Meet Billy - a photo on Flickriver

Meet Billy

            When we started to put out some seed for the local birds a few years back now, I guess we had no idea who would come and what would happen. For those of you who follow my occasional stories of our current Galah visitors, you may have guessed our backyard is in some ways now following Emma Lazarus's poem on the Statue of Liberty - "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

We now have those birds who decided to cross the boundary and come and ask us to give them friendship and food, we have those who have disabilities of one kind or another, those who are old, all of whom we very much try to help as individuals. We have had a couple of sad visits to the vet. 

In the last few months, we have had occasional visits by this lovely little Pied Butcherbird and of late, that has become twice a day. We have just named it Billy because that is a name that can apply to both sexes and we are not sure which one it is. Billy is quite comfortable with us, will get up close and today I managed to stroke it. Sadly, we also noticed that Billy has what appears to be a growth on its left eye and which bothers it. And also a bit of a lame right foot. The growth looks very much like one we saw on a local Magpie two generations ago which didn't end well. The right eye shown here is actually ok and black, it has just picked up a bit of reflected light. So we will do what we can do to make him or her comfortable.

Pied Butcherbird (from the web)

Many people consider the Pied Butcherbird to be the best singer of all Australia's birds.

The Pied Butcherbird's voice is a beautiful, melodious fluting, sometimes given in turn by several individuals.

The Pied Butcherbird is a medium-sized black and white bird. It has a full black hood, dark brown eye and long, hooked, grey and black bill. It has a broad white collar that goes all around its neck and a black bib (throat area). The rest of the underparts are white and the legs are black. The upper parts are mostly black, with large patches of white on the wings and rump. In flight, the white corners of the otherwise black tail are easily seen. Both sexes have identical plumage, but the male is slightly larger than the female. Young Pied Butcherbirds are generally duller than the adults are. The areas of black are replaced with brown and white areas are washed with buff. The birds also have an ill-defined bib, which becomes more distinct with age.

Similar species: 
The Pied Butcherbird is larger and more boldly marked than the Grey Butcherbird, Cracticus torquatus, and can be separated from the Black-backed Butcherbird, C. mentalis, of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, which lacks a black bib. It can be distinguished from other black and white birds, such as the Australian Magpie,Gymnorhina tibicen, and the Magpie-lark, Grallina cyanoleuca, by the black head and bib separated from the black back by a complete white collar, and white underparts. The bill is much larger than that of the Magpie-lark

Taken on: July 30, 2023

Tags:

Nikon D850

bird

Brisbane

Suburbs

Pied Butcher Bird « less

Sets appears in: • Our backyard - Galahs, birds, lizards etc • Nature - birds, animals, reptiles, insects etc. more » • Family « less

Groups appears in: • Amateurs • Nikon World more » • Australian Flickr {5 pictures a day} • Australian Wildlife • Australian Photographers • Australian Birds • Older Photographers • CentralFlickr • Australian Photographers!!!! • All interesting shots- NO RULES!!!!!!!!!!!! • Nikon Full Frame Cameras. • Australia-down-under • "Unlimited Photos: No Rules" (NO AI, CGI or SL images) • Australia on Flickr • Brisbane Amateur Photographers • Nature All Around Us • FlickrCentral With No Posting Limit • Birds, Bats, Bees & Butterflies • Nikon - The world through my eyes • Nikon - Nature • 65 and over (Photographers aged 65 and over) • Australian Suburbs • Birds of Australia • 60+ Seniors' Shooting — Beauty And Fine Perception • Wildlife Photography Australia • Nikon DSLR Photographers • Nikon Photographers • The beauty of Australian Nature • 60+ photographers • * just photos * no rules please use comment code appreciated • Belonging in Queensland • Life Through A Hole • FLICKR INTERNATIONAL - No 30/60 Groups Limit • Nature Shoot All the World/ No flowers Wild animal only • Nikon D850 Official Club ★ • Nikon D850 DSLR • Aussie Wildlife (Animals, Birds and Reptiles etc) • wildlife and the wild • Australian Photographers over 60 years • All Your Photos and Mine (No 30/60 limit - Photos from anywhere) • Feathered Flickr (Birds of a Feather) • All Natural Nature (No 30/60 Limit) • "Flickr Foto Share" • I N T E R E S T I N G • Down Under Flickr or (Flickr Down Under) « less

Camera: Nikon D850, f/11.0, 1/50 sec, 300mm, ISO 2800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	300mm
ISO:	2800
Exposure Bias:	+1/2 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Snapseed 2.23.540443640
Show full info

Stats: 3,421 views / 21 comments