During the last few days I have been watching a clan of Superb Fairy Wrens. They are one of two groups that have been around my house for some years now. Three days ago I noticed that one of them wasn’t a wren, it behaved like one, and if I didn’t hear it making a different sound, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all. Indeed, it is a Brown Thornbill.
Then I started to look for it. The bird does not have his own clan, it hangs out with the wrens exclusively .
Today, because it rained so much, the Thornbill was together with the wrens picking tiny bugs in front of the house, where it was dry. I have seen other birds attached to a different species. I would be interested in your experiences, and which birds you have seen constantly hang out with a different species?
I have one pair of King Parrots (Frank & Janet), they always come with a Crimson Rosella , who’s partner was killed by the neighbour’s cat last year. It’s the only Rosella the Kings accept without chasing it out of the tree when they get too close.
Let me know what you have seen?
This is the one. I will try to get it in the same photo with the wrens tomorrow, if I can.
Hi Araminta. I can imagine that bird species with similar diets would hang out where their food is abundant. This might explain the brown thornbill associating with the superb fairy wrens at your house. I recall that a few years ago at my place a visiting pair of southern whitefaces & their brood hung out with yellow-rumped thornbills. They frequently fed on the ground together. The southern white face family flew to other parts after a couple of weeks.
I've just poked my nose into Morcombe's Field Guide to Australian Birds to learn that southern whitefaces are "often in small flocks that may include other species." So there you are.