Some years ago, we hired a car in Cairns and drove ourselves around the area. We drove inland and up on to the Atherton Tableland, went north over a few days, then back to the coast at Port Douglas, returning from there to Cairns.
We enjoyed the driving and saw a number of different birds and heard a lot of others that were calling out from the shelter of the bush.
Even seeing birds doesn’t mean that it is possible to get a reasonable photo because branches, twigs and leaves seem to delight in getting in the way.
One of the birds that I spotted in the scrub was the male Eclectus parrot (pictured). It seemed determined to keep some of the foliage between him and me so I waited patiently, moving around slowly so as not to frighten him away. I found a gap between some branches from which I had a good vision as he sat quietly for a short time.
This was one of the highlights of the trip for me being able to get photos of this bird which is found only in the tropical north.
Both male and female Eclectus are beautiful birds in their own right but totally different to each other.
The male has a striking lime green coloured plumage with a rich blue on the end of the wings and tail.
The female is a lovely red on the main parts of her body with blue on part of the wings and under the stomach area. Her beak and eyes are black.
These parrots nest in the hollows in trees or dead limbs usually quite high off the ground.
A female occupies a nesting hole and may be attended by more than one male.
