Grey Butcher Bird

Grey Butcher Bird (Cracticus torquatus)

  

I watched this Grey Butcher Bird sitting atop a dead tree this morning. I often hear them calling but seldom can find them. Their call carries over such a large distance by the time I get anywhere near, the singers have gone.

You can hear them sing at this Youtube site.

It was a surprise to see this one sitting so still for so long.  What drew my attention wasn't the butcher bird but the single currawong watching from a nearby tree. It seemed to be watching the butcher bird carefully. The butcher bird flew off to another tree about fifty metres away. The currawong watched and then followed, once again to settle with his eyes on the butcher bird.

Perhaps they were visiting! My books tell me the butcher birds, the currawongs and the magpies are cousins, all members of the Artamidae family. Did you know that currawongs are also called bell-magpies? They all three, do have similar voices, strong and rich. Sometimes it takes me a moment to tell whether it is a butcher bird or a magpie calling from the top of tree across the golf course.  All three are also aggressive in the defense of their territories. Family traits seem to be strong in this family.

The butcher bird is named because of its habit of wedging prey in tree forks or impaling it on sharp twigs. Because they cannot hold things in their feet, they us these wedges and spikes to help to dismember their food. They may also store excess food in this way.

I can just make out the hook on the bird's beak in the top picture. It is a real butcher's hook.


Reference: 
A Field Guide To Australian Birds
Volume 2 Passerines        
Peter Slater  1974
Pub. Rigby