W IS FOR WILLY WAGTAIL

The Willie Wagtail is insectivorous and spends much time chasing prey in open habitat. Its common name is derived from its habit of wagging its tail horizontally when foraging on the ground. Aggressive and territorial, the Willie Wagtail will often harass much larger birds such as the Laughing Kookaburra and Wedge-tailed Eagle. It has responded well to human alteration of the landscape and is a common sight in urban lawns, parks, and gardens. It was widely featured in aboriginal folklore around the country as either a bringer of bad news or a stealer of secrets.
I am so excited we had a breeding pair of Willy Wagtails build a nest in our tangerine tree. These are the cheekiest birds in the feathered world, they have a beautiful repertoire of songs, they eat insects, they attack our dog and have I mentioned that they eat insects?

Willie Wagtails are wild native birds that have all our native bush land to nest in and have chosen to live alongside us humans instead. 

They are very intelligent and as I said before very cheeky. 

They feed by flying behind large animals (sheep cattle), performing intricate aerobatics in order to catch the insects disturbed as the animals walk past. 

Our dog Ruby must be a bit heavy on the paw as they follow her around for hours, chattering and teasing her to chase them in order to stir up the insects on the lawn.  She obliges of course and then the feeding frenzy is on.  They must do it one at a time however as if someone loses concentration Ruby is more than happy to have a mid morning snack.

We have no idea where the nest is but we know there is one in progress because Ruby is also being stalked for her fur. Cattle dogs moult, summer, winter, summer in the northern hemisphere, when they go to the vet, after we vacuum they moult.  The fur is fine and as soft as a baby’s bum.  Many a bird has cast an eye and lost a foot over a clump of Ruby fur on the lawn.

Willie Wagtails do not pick up the discarded fur however, no, they take it from the source.

Ruby lies on the lawn in the sun asleep.  WWT no 1 goes to the tail area (where the nicest bits of fur are) and WWT no 2 goes to the head.  WWT 1 grabs a big beakful of fur and WWT 2 lets fly with a barrage of verbal abuse.  Ruby wakes up and takes off after the rude bird leaving quite a bit of fur with WWT 1.  Every now and again we hear Ruby barking at both of them to leave her alone but on the whole all 3 seem to enjoy the game.

I envy those little wagtails, their nest must be the coziest in the land, although I’d have to move out if it got wet.