Rufous Whistler

I saw this Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) while visiting friends the other day. This is a male - the female is not colored so brightly. She is another one of those brownish birds that are so hard to ID!. It is not a big bird - only 17cms or about 7 inches in length.
I didn't see any of the common birds that I see in my own yard while I was around at my friends' place. They don't live very far away but the environment around their house is quite different. There are lots of large old trees and some dense low plantings that run down to the wet area at the bottom of their property. Possibly the most important difference is that there are no dogs, cats or children near-by!
For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.

Bayside

Yesterday was a beautiful clear morning and even more enjoyable because we have had so many gray and overcast days recently - not like Queensland at all! It was still early when I got down to the bay and the fog was lying in long streamers over the far side of the bay. There were Eastern Curlew roosting on a little rocky spit but before I could get anywhere near them they flew off with their usual noisy cries.I walked around the southern end of the shorebird roost. The tide was low so there were no shorebirds roosting in there. I could hear numbers of birds up high in the trees. Then one flew down where I could see it and get some photos. It was a male Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris).This is a photo I took some time ago of a female Rufous Whistler.For more bird photos visit the Bird Photography Weekly.