One morning, Glenda called out to me to come out to our verandah.
There, on a nearby branch was a beautiful male Rufous Whistler. I dived back inside for my camera.
I could see him moving in and out of the foliage so he was mostly covered all the time. There are a number of open branches on the tree but he stayed clear of these.
The male Rufous has beautiful rufous-coloured feathers on his under-body, grey on the top of his head and back, as well as black and brown on his wings and tail.
His throat is white. A black ring goes down from his eyes and continues to go around the throat. Both the male and female have the most melodious calls, which are a joy to listen to.
The male moved further away through the tree and I thought that would be the end of my chances to photograph him. Suddenly, I spotted a female Rufous Whistler land on a branch in the open, close to the house.
She stayed there for a short time before foraging for herself. However, I had time to take some good photos of her. As the illustration shows, her plumage is quite different to the male’s.
When the male headed off to a tree further away, she followed him, ending the photo shoot.
Rufous Whistlers are found all over Australia. Their food is mainly insects, which they gather from the foliage. They nest in trees and one of their nests I had found previously, was only just above my head height,
I began watching this nest from a distance, hoping to be able to photograph the adults feeding the chicks after they had hatched. Sadly, I returned one day to find the nest wrecked and the birds gone.
