Wordless Wednesday - Passionfruit Flower

Serenade

Twice this year I have been witness to a juvenile Grey Butcherbird who visits my garden to sing its beautiful song (to its reflection in one of the windows perhaps?)

Considering that I'm mostly only at home on weekends, and when I am home most of my time is spent out in the garden, AND that the birds tend not to visit if I'm around, it's pretty good luck that I can catch it in the act at all.

Pausing mid-song to peer at me.

The above photos and the below video was from a concert he/she gave back in February of this year.

It had been months since I had seen it, until this past weekend when I was pottering about inside for once, and heard a familar-ish song coming from the front garden. I thought for sure that it would fly away the minute I stepped outside, but it was too busy singing to take too much notice. I shot quite a bit of video of it, but for some reason our street got really busy all of a sudden and drowned out the song in parts. The below video is all I could salvage.

If it is the same butcherbird, it sounds as though it has worked hard over the months to perfect its song. I never knew this until recently, but butcherbirds are mimics. When listening to this one's serenade on Saturday, I could hear magpies, parrots, noisy miners and more I can't identify but that seem familiar.

Now that I have listened to the first video I took in February again, I can hear hints of the song that it would one day become. 

Such a beautiful little creature, and I am so pleased that it feels safe enough to use my front garden as a stage on which to perform.