Nigerian Scammer...

...Of the bird world..


Spotted Bower bird; one of about 8 or 9 that scam their way around the homestead garden most days...

If birds ever start selling dodgey insurance or 3rd hand cars, you can bet it will be one of these guys..

Link to a better sized image:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rod_outback/6245200490

I've heard about the Bower birds on nature TV shows. Amazing!

I enjoyed your wild bird pics on Flickr. What in the world are those birds on the last page right before the owl pics?! They look like half lizard and half tree bark! Very camouflaged.

They are a Tawny Frogmouth, and often referred to as a Frogmouth Owl, which isn't correct (they aren't an owl at all).
I think there are 3 species of these across Australia, but we only get this one. Very soft feathers (like the owl), and near-silent when hunting at night.
Lone Frogmouths are often sighted when we are out spotlighting for ferals, as well as the pretty little Boobook owls(next bird on the Flickr site).

The last few photos on the Flickr site, it was night time, and we knew that there was a bird in the house somewhere(They sometimes get through the flyscreen, and get lost in the house). Mum and I are scouting around the verandas' to try to find the bird, and must have come past a dozen times before one of us thought to look up. It seems one of the ceiling fans on the big veranda has sprouted a growth!

They are about 2 ft high when fully grown, and have a wide, very strong beak.
(I wore welding gauntlets when extricating him from the fan, as I still wear scars from an episode with a bower bird, and this guy has a LOT bigger beak!...).
Sudden death on small furry animals at night, and pretend they are a tree branch during the day. It's only when they fully open the huge orange eyes that you realise when you are looking at.

Many thanks for the kind comments; glad you enjoy the photos.