I recently listened to radio segment on birds communicating. It was fascinating.
Apparently studies have unlocked communal conversations that warn of danger above, danger below, danger nearby, danger approaching, distant danger, abundant food source etc ... I think it was mostly species specific.
Twice now, once this last weekend, above and around our home “all hell has broken loose” with raucous, urgent, screaming and screeching cockatoos beyond anything you would normally experience ... both times the cockatoos were flying erratically at height above a sea eagle gliding silently and purposely around and though our trees tops looking for any fledgings in accessible nests ... the commotion was clearly a neighbour warning for all bird parents to get back to their nests to protect their young ... and within less than 10-15 seconds all bird species in the area were screaming as loud as possible ... an amazing cross species sense of “community”.
Magpies feature strongly in that radio segment and I have long been intrigued by them. Of all the birds I encounter when out on walks I find them the most responsive to “being talked to” ... inquisitive, attentive and I think they remember me from over a few days absence ... kookas on the other hand usually fly off quickly if I stop and try to “have a chat” ... lorikeets are always chatty and amazingly sociable.
There is a wonderful little book “Penguin Bloom - The Odd Little Bird that Saved a Family” based on a story from near where I live (Cameron Bloom & Bradley Trevor Grieve) about a magpie.
Has anyone here had any success befriending magpies in a preserving, sustainable way? Or kookas, or other native birds?
