Yep, I know they are Pied Lark. But, ever since I was a little tacker, I’ve been impressed with Muddies—as we used to be allowed to call them. I think there is an affinity between a young lad, and a bird that makes its stand in a tiny puddle of muddy water alongside the roadway.
There is discussion that they also form the shape for the emblem on the South Australian Flag. The best designs call it a “Piping Shrike”, a term that was applied at various stages to both Muddies and Australian Magpies.
I really want to get a shot of a pair engaged in their wingflap/flare pair-bonding call. But I’ve also been following them for such a long time to get a respectable wing shape in flight.
Tis the season for young muddies to show off among their peers and it does make it a little easier to get a close fly past.
We came across a group working over a roadway, and I walked down the fence line to where a female was sitting. All I had to do was wait till it flew.
Females have the black line down through the eye. Males have a white eyebrow and no white bib.
What I didn’t anticipate was what happened next.
Continue reading “SNAPSHOTS: The Flight of the Mudlark”
