9th
“The Birds”
There was a major commotion in the driveway across the thoroughfare from our place. Looking at The Boy’s window I could see what appeared to be a nasty fight going on. One magpie (or currawong - I could never tell them apart) was valiantly fightly while lying on the ground. The other magpie (for simplicity, I’ve decided they’re maggies) was viciously lunging in, beak first, time after time.
Bugs came into his room to see what I was looking at. Not wanting to upset him, I told him the birds were “playing”. This amused him no end and he watched intently. The aggressor suddenly lunged right in and was looming right over the top of the bird stretched out on the ground. It quickly shifted forward, jumped back a little, shifted forward and then…well…”playing” indeed. Huh.
Did you know that magpies can mate face-to-face? Me neither. Things you learn.
(Note: ever tried to take a photo of a mating animal in public without people thinking you’re some sort of weirdo? Not so hard, actually)
