The darkness falls early now. The clocks have gone back: a presager of winter. Time for the migration is almost upon me: 19 days 20 hours and 26 minutes as I write these words. It's just after 4.30 in the afternoon and the sky is dark with rain and my lights are on. Last week I was waking in the dark but now a new experience wakens me with the lighter mornings: a Tui 10 metres from my head. This happened once before when I was staying at Katherine's in Tauranga.
The Tui
(Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic passerine bird of New
Zealand. It is one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater
family. The name Tui is from the Maori and is the species' formal common
name. The plural is simply 'Tui', following Māori usage. The English
name, Parson Bird, has fallen into disuse but came about because at
first glance the Tui appears completely black except for a small tuft of
white feathers at its neck and a small white wing patch, causing it to
resemble a parson in religious attire.
Tui's appear to me to 'talk' constantly and with a very varied vocabulary. Their chatter is generally audible for many tens of metres but their call is audible for a very long way and echoes around the geological bowl in which The Cottage is situated.
So when a Tui in an oak tree 10 metres from your head starts singing the joys of life at the crack of dawn you know about it.
A few days ago I tracked him down and stood underneath the tree and managed a few photos of him.
Posts
How big are they? About blackbird-size? That white bit on his throat looks odd - almost as if there was something attached to him.
ReplyDeleteLast week, I took pictures of a singing blackbird on my neighbours' roof. Your post reminded me that I have not posted them yet. Thank you!
And really only 19 days to go - that's incredible!
They are a bit larger than a Blackbird, Meike, being about 30cm as against a Blackbird's 25cm.
DeleteIt has been a wonderful summer - I hope you bring it back again next year :)
ReplyDeleteFi I'd love to have another summer like this one: great for the croquet. I do feel for the farmers though.
DeleteI think Mr.Tui knows that you will soon be off and running again, so he is making sure you get your money's worth before you go.
ReplyDeleteGOOD MORNNNING!!!
That's a thought Virginia.
DeleteAlways interesting when you show something that we never see. So it reminds me of the rooster crowing starting before sunrise.
ReplyDeleteYes. I had those on Lewis Red. I didn't hear them but they used to drive one of my neighbours mad: the hens were in front of their bedroom.
DeleteHe does look like he's wearing a parson's collar! :) And waking you up with a Morning Prayer or sermon as well then, it seems!
ReplyDeleteWhat an imagination you have Monica.
DeleteYou were so lucky to get some shots of the Tui. Most Birds are very hard to photograph. New Zealand, like Australia has some unusual fauna.
ReplyDeleteYes Bill we have some very unusual fauna and flora too. The Tui tend to hide in amongst the tree foliage but they don't seem too fussed if you get fairly close. I was on the ground directly below this one.
DeleteHis neck feathers are so unusual. I love to hear different sounding songs of birds.
ReplyDeleteTui must have come around to say bon voyage!
The call of the Tui is quite different to anything else I've heard. The chattering is quite soft and varied and incessant but the call (which varies from area to area) is very loud indeed and usually just three or four notes repeated seemingly endlessly.
DeleteOur mocking bird buddies have been hanging out, or so my husband tells me ;-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen one Cat.
DeleteExcellent images, Geeb. I can hear it as I looked at them. The repetitive 3-4 not call is a territorial call, I think. The rest is showing off to the ladies. Apparently it takes about four or five years of practice before a young tui is good enough to attract a mate. Apparently young tui start with very simple 'tunes' and learn over the following years.
ReplyDeleteThanks Katherine. I didn't know all that.
DeleteGreat images but I'm amused because he looks very annoyed in all of them. Maybe he's like me, not at his best in the mornings! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd not really thought about how he looked Pauline. You could be right though.
DeleteOh yes, I know this bird from Paul's blog from New Zealand! I looked up and found a video of it singing, it's hard to describe it!
ReplyDelete(Just read over this, sounds like I know EVERYTHING to know about New Zealand from reading two bloggers from there! HA HA!!)
The thing is, Kay, that the chatter is just so varied and the repetitive notes are nowhere near as melodious as, say, the British Blackbird. I shall have to go and find Paul's blog. Presumably he comments on yours so I'll trace it that way.
Delete