Apostlebirds are such comical characters to find in the middle of nowhere. I noticed them in the trees when driving along one of the main tracks at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park.
1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 1600
Canon R5, Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM
I usually see them foraging on the ground in fairly large family groups so was a little surprised to spot a group of them preening and chattering in the branches. As they were a couple of metres up it was the perfect time to use the sunroof. If I’d opened the car door I think they would have flown, and if they hadn’t flown my photographs would have been taken at quite an angle. Using the sunroof meant I was looking directly across at them.
Apostlebirds were named by early settlers who believed they always foraged in groups of twelve, like the Biblical disciples of Jesus. They are often in groups of about ten to twelve but I’ve also seen them in smaller and larger groups.
They eat seeds, some plants, invertebrates and small vertebrates. They build mud nests that they paste onto horizontal branches and line with grasses. Non-breeding members of the family help build the nest and help to feed the nestlings.
1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 1600
Canon R5, Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM
I was having a wonderful time photographing them when they flew to my side of the track to get a closer look at the strange person that had emerged from the roof of her car. This meant that they were too close to capture an entire bird in the frame. The photograph above is the best I managed and its tail is out of the picture. It was so funny to hear them chattering so loudly as they peered at me.
Yesterday was World Kangaroo Day so I’ll share the photograph and text that I shared on social media. It received many comments, mostly wonderful but a couple that were outrageously sickening.
1/500, f/6.3, ISO 2000
1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 1600Canon R5, Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM
“Yesterday was World Kangaroo Day! There is something wonderful about knowing that people across the planet value these remarkable marsupials. I love lying in the grass watching their very identifiable family interactions – tenderness, playfulness, watchfulness. The more I watch them the more anthropomorphic I become, well, actually I’m pretty much totally anthropomorphic. I also love knowing that in cities across the world caring people protest outside of stores like Adidas with signs, information and chants such as ‘kangaroos are not shoes’. If you see kangaroos in areas you haven’t seen them before it’s almost certainly because they’ve had to wander to find food due to drought, fire or development. Claims that they breed quickly and are in plague proportions are untrue but are spread by the kangaroo ‘harvesting’ industry – it’s not ‘harvesting’, they don’t grow back. I won’t share details of the many ways that the world’s largest land-based wildlife slaughter is unethical, unhygienic and unsustainable (be prepared for some horrific images and information if you go searching) but I will urge you to avoid feeding your pets anything containing kangaroo meat and to be mindful of any other ways you may be able to help these unique and quintessentially Australia marsupials.”
Happy birding, Kim
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The wonderful story of a beautiful, unique and precious Mother Kangaroo saving a little boy shows how remarkable our wildlife and animals are and all should be respected, valued and protected.
According to Kangaroos Alive, a global movement for the ethical treatment of kangaroos, kangaroos have been in Australia for 15 million years. They and the Australian bush are uniquely connected. Kangaroos regenerate the bush and eat native grasses. They are one of the few species who control their own breeding. They don’t need to be ‘managed’ by humans because they will limit their own populations to suit the environment and conditions.
Unfortunately politicians, governments and shooters do not agree and all these groups have no interest whatsoever in protecting our iconic kangaroo (and koala).
It was sickening to read that kangaroo was served to King Charles. The kangaroo is not only an Aussie icon it features on the Commonwealth Coat of Arms. I think everyone who loves this very wonderful marsupial should contact their elected representative and tell them to stop killing, eating and serving the symbol on our Commonwealth Coat of Arms.
I hope that little boy will forever remember which amazing, gentle, unique and precious Aussie icon saved his life and shares the remarkable story with everyone he meets – that is a real Aussie legend.
Your beautiful, inquisitive, comical, noisy Apostlebird would definitely make you laugh and be a wonderful and welcome visitor if you found yourself in the middle of nowhere!!
I did not know that Charles had been served kangaroo. That is seriously disgusting. I’m staggered as I thought he cared about the environment. I hope he didn’t choose to eat it!
Kangaroos Alive is great, as is kangaroosatrisk.org and the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance. It gives me hope that there are so many people out there who care about the truth and about our dwindling wildlife.
I had never heard of apostlebirds! What interesting characters. Love the cute floofball!
Thanks so much for speaking up for kangaroos. It shouldn’t be a controversial topic but it sadly is. One day future generations will be shocked that we treated them with such callous disregard, much as we now look back in horror on the koala skins industry of last century.
They are definitely interesting characters! And you are so right about kangaroos. It is shocking, sickening, how they are being treated and I totally agree with you about the koala skin analogy.
Thank you.
I loved seeing the Apostle birds – and was wondering how they got their name. The close up shows quintessential curiosity and an adorable ‘fluffiness’.
A huge sigh at our ‘kangaroo industry’ and thank you (again) for the nod to their day.
The Apostlebirds are such noisy characters EC, they always make me smile. I wasn’t aware of their curiosity until they came so close to have a good look at me.
Sorry, Kim! I did waffle on a bit too long! I will try to keep my comments briefer next time – feel free to edit for brevity if you need to.
Never a problem Deirdre! What you write is always interesting to me, and I’m sure to many others too.
What a cute little puffling that 2nd Apostle bird is – is it a chick? I do admire the way you are able to show the clear intelligence in the bird’s eye – you have really captured its dignity, Kim. I also love your kanga photo – the soft grasses frame the roo so gently. They are my favourite animal in the world, actually – so beautifully evolved to thrive in our harsh country.
Your piece on World Kangaroo Day is powerfully poetic. I, too, despair at the macho Aussie boofheads who think it is their god-given right to shoot our beautiful roos. A sadistic ‘sport.’I could never eat kangaroo meat, although I am often offered ‘kanga bangas’ and roo burgers at BBQs. I have noticed, to my great alarm, that the meat is becoming more popular these days. What many Australians fail to realise, is that roo meat is riddled with parasites, dangerous to human and canine health. The aboriginals knew this – that’s why they always cooked roo meat until it was like charred black leather. It is the only way to make the meat safe to eat – but it is not at all appetising cooked this way. None of this gourmet pink, bloody and tender roo meat for them! They did not hunt the kangas for fun, either – for them it was a question of survival in a tough country. I made a sickening discovery in one of those cheap touristy shops in Swanston St in Melbourne, a few months ago. I could not believe my eyes. The shop was selling bottle openers, and the handle was made of kangaroo leather, with a pair of roo testicles attached. I slammed it down on the shop counter and asked the shop owner what the hell he thought he was doing! Couldn’t he see how insulting, how disrespectful this was to our noble kangaroos? He just shrugged and said with a smirk – ‘They don’t waste anything in the roo industry, luv. It’s better than chucking them away – and besides, they’re a best seller for my shop.’ I just shook my head in disbelief. I felt sick. It’s the callous and cruel indifference that so enrages me. But I’ll just finish on a happier note – do you remember back in 2015, when a little 7 year old boy wandered away from his family’s farm in South Australia? It was the Kruger family’s farm – the story was in all the papers. Anyway, this little lad wandered off and was picking flowers for his mum. He quickly got lost in the bush. A kanga hopped up to him, just as it was getting dark and very cold. He later told his parents that he had been kept warm all night by this big mama kangaroo, who cuddled up next to him -she held him close all night. The boy said she had hopped off quickly, when she heard the boy’s Blue Heeler, Molly, barking and running towards them early the next morning. The dog’s barking led the search party to find him. His parents laughed when he later told them about the kanga keeping him warm – what an imagination! they said. But then, later that night, the mother, who was about to chuck all his dirty clothes in the washing machine, found wisps of light brown fur all over the boy’s jumper – and she was a bit intrigued by this. A vet dropped by the next day to check on some sheep on their farm, and the mother asked the vet if he knew what kind of fur it was. He picked it up, sniffed it, and said – ‘Oh that’s roo fur – no doubt about it.’
I just love this true story. Happy World Kangaroo Day, Kim!
I hadn’t heard of the story about the missing boy Deirdre but just found it when searching the details you mentioned – how absolutely lovely!
I saw kangaroo products for sale at the airport years ago and was sickened enough to return to the shelf all the things I’d planned to buy, and to let them know why I was doing so. Wildlife carers who spray roadkill kangaroos with a X so we all know they’ve been checked for pouch joeys now also spray testicles. It is truly disgusting. It’s made me think how critical we are of other countries selling bits of animals and yet we do it ourselves…