My posting here have taken a hit over the past few weeks,  not because of lack of getting out, but because of getting out. Just to many filing, sorting, deleting and tagging of images to keep up a steady repartee on WordPress.

EE and I were out looking for Eastern Yellow Robins the past week.  Not, I must say, one of our highpoint weeks, but you’ve got to put in the quiet days to get the magic days.  But while we were sitting looking a most interesting moment occurred on the old tree we were using as base.

A pair of Striated Pardalotes came on to the tree and began their usual “per. plink” chatter. But then the rate became quicker, and the volume increased, and plainly out in the open they began to display.  At first we thought it might be a young juvenile begging, with the wing fluttering and the lowering of the body, but both birds were indulging in doing it. And they followed one another back and forth along a couple of branches.

No contact was made by them, and they kept a small distance apart.  So I discounted a couple of males having a territorial dispute.  They seem to go into flying chest bumping as their opening gambit.

They kept it up on and off over the course of about two hours. Then completely disappeared (as Pardalotes are quite capable of doing).

At one point, they both seemed to be very interested in a small hole in the old tree trunk and popped in and out a number of times.

So perhaps its the beginning of a mating ritual?  I checked the venerable HANZAB, and it responded with the ‘insufficient data’ type comment, so we’re really none the wiser.
Still a couple of hours in the sunshine with some very active and attractive birds is a good day out.