Great Focus Target…by Brad Marks

Howdy everyone! Been busy around the Intrigued Headquarters this week. We turned on the lights in the haunt lab, fired up all the 3D printers which are now going around the clock and there are props in various states littered about the lab – it’s haunt season and, like every year, we are already behind schedule. It is clear the finger issue will need to be taken care of as it is slowing me down, especially on the heavier items – ugh, not like I need ANOTHER medical procedure to deal with. The good news is I did officially finish processing all the spoils from the January 2025 trip to Texas..yes you read that year right. On the bright side, plenty more fodder for future posts and now I can start on the March/April trip to Arizona which I believe netted me the most +1s in a single trip – I think you are really going to like those finds! While I try to get the scare factory back on schedule and put more thought into how to resolve the latest injury, Brad is going to take over and bring you another entry in his “Down Under” series. Unless you are from that area, you might want to turn your monitor upside down so you can read it easier..or stand on your head ha.

Take it away Brad…

One day during our photo assignment Down Under . . . I’m betting some of you may think I’m just reusing this opening line from other stories.  Well, I am, sort of.  Jan and I had a fantastic time in Australia and New Zealand, and ended up photographing over 130 different species.  All but one of these species was a +1.  That means there will be plenty more stories from the Birds Down Under series.

Today, I’m going to start with a bit of photography education, mainly for me, to help with today’s story.  Camera basic 101 (at least how I understand it): all auto-focus capable cameras, whether SLR, point-n-shoot, mirrorless, or smartphones need some sort of contrast to be able to achieve a sharp focus.  The camera sensor relies on finding sharp edges in the photo, contrast, or patterns, to achieve a sharp focus.  What better photography target for birders than one that is starkly black and white?  In other words, high contrast.  No fuzzy transitions between various shades of yellow, green, or brown.  I’m talking ends of the spectrum, polarizing black and white.

I think “Mama” took the Kodachrome tin and replaced it with Lomography Lady Grey. Hit the jump to learn more about this black and white specimen…while you try to get that song out of your head ha… “I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph, so mama don’t take my Kodachrome away…“

Jan and I saw this particular bird nearly everywhere we went in Australia.  No, it’s not a House Sparrow.  At first glance, I just thought these were funny looking crows.  Actually, they aren’t Corvids at all.  They aren’t even related to Corvids, well, at least not very closely.  More on that in a bit.

This is an Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), definitely a +1 for us. Jan and I saw our first Magpie at the Treasury Gardens near our hotel in Melbourne.  Then we encountered them flitting about in Adelaide and hanging out near Ayers Rock at Uluru National Park.  They made an appearance again in the open areas at Taronga Zoo near Sydney.  These photos are from our last full day in Sydney at the Royal Botanical Gardens, where Jan and I caught this pair interacting.

At first glance, Australian Magpies look similar to a raven or a crow.  I’ve learned that they should not be confused with Australian Ravens, which are all black (definitely not to be confused with New Zealand’s national rugby team the All Blacks) and have white eyes.  The Currawong, another black crow-sized bird found in Australia, has yellow eyes.  The Australian Magpie has intense reddish-brown eyes.  And of course, the striking black and white pattern on its upper back, leading wing edges, and under its tail.  Hence, the great auto-focus target (note the call back to the beginning of the story).

The large whitish bill reminded me a bit of the Rooks we’ve seen in England.  The way the Australian Magpies largely seemed unconcerned around humans also reminded me of the Rooks.  That’s where the similarities end because both birds are from completely different taxonomy families.  Rooks (including the various ravens and crows in Australia and the U.S.) are part of the Family Corvidae.  Whereas the Australian Magpie is more closely related to the Butcherbird and is in the Family Artamidae.  Some experts online think the Corvids are newer and have evolved from the Artamids.  Both families are part of the Order Passerines which contains pretty much every small or medium sized bird on the planet.

The Australian Magpie is native to Australia and southern New Guinea.  They have also been introduced to New Zealand, but we didn’t see any there; wrong places and wrong times I’m guessing.  The Australian Magpie is not related to, or similar to, any magpies found in the U.S., which, ironically, are more directly related to crows and ravens.  Getting a feel for the circular reference here?  Confused?  Me too.  I can’t make this stuff up.  I’m learning that if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s not necessarily a duck.  Insert your own imagined maniacal laugh here.  Did Intrigued Legal help with these definitions?  (at least when they aren’t photocopying their butts.)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled story.  Jan and I watched this pair of Magpies interact for several minutes.  Magpies are very family oriented.  We were able to capture some nice parent/child interactions.  The Magpies were just a few feet from the walking path that wound through the Royal Gardens.  After a couple of dozen images, I realized one was feeding the other one.  Today’s snack item looks like a large ant.  Magpies will eat any insect they can catch, or forage out of the ground, or dig out from behind tree bark.  They have been known to eat small amphibians and reptiles and mammals.  Oh my!  Fruit and seeds are also on the menu when in season.  They will, unfortunately, consume bits of human food they find lying around, which may not be the best thing for them nutritionally.

Australian Magpies are roughly crow-sized, except there’s very little forehead before their prodigious black-tipped white bill.  Adults are starkly black and white.  Juveniles have slightly greyer feathers, lighter black and darker white, than their parents.  Juveniles also have dark eyes where the adults have those piercing reddish-brown eyes.

The younger, less starkly colored bird, must have been a teenager that had just woken up and couldn’t be bothered to prepare breakfast for itself.  It kept stopping to open its bill, hoping to have someone food put in there.  When just hatched, mom provides most of the feeding while dad protects the nest and their territory. 

Magpies do not migrate and are largely territorial.  They prefer open areas (parks and fields) for foraging, but build nests in trees.  The female is primarily responsible for nest building.  She weaves a nest in a tree from twigs and sticks and will often return to the same nest improvement store for more nesting materials.  A pair will incubate 2-5 eggs for about three weeks.  The female handles all of the incubation duties, precisely controlling egg temperature and adjusting her position as necessary to keep things just right.  When the chicks have hatched, both parents take turns feeding the young.  At about four weeks the chicks fledge.  They will continue to hang around another 2-3 months to get food from mom and dad’s fridge before becoming fully skilled and independent at 6-8 months.  Young adult magpies leave their parents territory after about a year, unless they end up moving back in with the parents.

Australian Magpies mate for life.  If a male dies, the female will find a new mate rather quickly to help care for her existing offspring and defend the territory.  If the female dies, the male goes through a rather long period of “grieving”.  Australian Magpies have been known to hold “funerals” if they come across a deceased magpie.  A funeral may consist of several unrelated birds standing around silently as if paying homage to the dead bird.  Some have been observed giving offerings of grass or scraps to the dead bird.  Healthy birds can expect to live up to 20 years.

Something I found very interesting when looking up facts for this story, is that Australian Magpies have a very good memory and can recognize other individual birds and even human faces.  They appear to form long-lasting friendships very easily, human or bird, but are slow to forgive a transgression.  A trait known to be shared by ravens and crows.  Another reason to be nice to our fine feathered friends regardless which Family they are in.

Male and female Australian Magpies look nearly, but not perfectly, identical.  Males are slightly larger than females, hard to compare unless they are standing side by side.  Males also have a slightly longer and thicker bill than females.  Again, unless there are two standing next to each other . . . well, you know the drill.  There is one distinction that may help.  Males have a more distinct white patch on their upper backs, sort of a glossy tuxedo coloring.  Females can have slight grey feathers near the bottom of the patch on their upper backs.

Just as suddenly as the feeding started it stopped and the magpies flew away.  They seem to have lost interested in posing for the cameras.  After a full day of walking all over Sydney, I’m looking forward to an early dinner.  It is also our last full day in Australia.  We need to pack up the cameras, and the rest of our luggage, for the trip to New Zealand tomorrow.

Thank you for reading.  If you want to see more Australian Magpie photos, please visit here. 

Credits:

Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing.  Thanks to Jan for many of the photos in this story.