GREY SHRIKE-THRUSH
These beautiful grey and tan birds are very common around Kilmore. It is very easy to look past them to those little less common birds. They are very attractive birds about the size of our introduced garden thrush. Their colouring of soft grey with a tan back make them very handsome.
These birds are shrikes, they are hunters preying on insects and spiders, frogs and lizards, other small birds, nestlings and eggs. They do also seek out fruit and seeds at times.
On a day like to day their calling is beautiful to hear. They have many variations depending on the season and the time of the day. Today it was the sound of Spring. Michael Morcombe's book 'Field Guide To Australian Birds' describes it as 'quorra, quorra, quorra, WHIEET-CHIEW'.
The Kilmore bush in the springtime, is loud with the calling of these birds.
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