They say “familiarity breeds contempt” and I think that is true of one of Australia’s most common birds – the Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca). They are one of the few species of Australian birds that have benefited from land clearance and urbanisation and so they are seen in most towns and cities. Most people are so accustomed to their presence in environment that they barely give them a thought. I must say that I am one of them. If I look at my photo library in the last twenty years I’ve only taken 11 photos of a Magpie-lark while in the last five years I’ve taken 77 photos of White-faced Herons.

 

The other day I’d been on a Kingfisher stakeout and I was just walking up the river to see what the Rainbow Bee-eaters were up to. When I noticed this pair of male fledgling Magpie-larks creating a hullabaloo. Waiting a few minutes I saw an adult male fly in and feed them. He was very conscientious making sure to feed each one in turn. He’d then fly off and walk around the grass in the park looking for bugs and worms and when he had a beak full he return back to his charges. In the half an hour I watched them I didn’t once see the mother. Perhaps she was taking a well earned rest somewhere.

 

So watching and photographing those interactions has made me double the number of photos of Magpie-larks in my library and reminded me not to ignore the less charismatic birds.