Blue Wren and Lemon Migrant Butterfly
It was another confusing day in Robertson, today. It started clear. By early afternoon, it was drizzling, with a thick wall of fog hanging just outside of the village, out beyond the Pie Shop, and at Steve and Celeste's place, on top of Mount Murray. By this evening, it had cleared up completely, allowing an outside film show to go ahead at the CTC.
Meanwhile, late this afternoon, in the moist air, the little birds were having a field day in the shrubbery adjacent to my house.
The male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) (OK, OK, its a "Blue Wren") was inspecting the fine details of the shrubbery, looking for insects. 
But he missed this Lemon Migrant Butterfly (Catopsilia pomona) which was very quiet, just hanging from the bunch of flower buds on a Cassinia bush. His pale yellow colour, and lack of movement gave it sufficient camouflage to escape the attention of the Wren.
Meanwhile, late this afternoon, in the moist air, the little birds were having a field day in the shrubbery adjacent to my house.
The male Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) (OK, OK, its a "Blue Wren") was inspecting the fine details of the shrubbery, looking for insects. 
But he missed this Lemon Migrant Butterfly (Catopsilia pomona) which was very quiet, just hanging from the bunch of flower buds on a Cassinia bush. His pale yellow colour, and lack of movement gave it sufficient camouflage to escape the attention of the Wren.
5 comments:
Denis, thank you for the wren photos. I have been three years in Vic and not seen one. And I would love to. As a girl from the tropics, they are new and strange beasties to me. They sing with a tune too don't they?
Blessings and bliss
The males are often secretive (as they know they stand out so much). Also, juvenile males appear to be females (same body colour, only with a blue tail, so the ratio of blue males to brown birds might be as little as 1:10.
The call is a high pitch metallic rattling whistle. You can listen to it at "Birds in Backyards" - scroll down to S for Superb Fairy-wren. Down the bottom right side of that page, you can download the call. MP3 format, so it is quick to download.
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/finder/display.cfm?id=3
It must be lovely to have these wonderful birds in your garden. We have them in our district (Murray Bridge in SA) but only occasionally in the garden. Mind you, we have plenty of other species to keep us entertained.
Good photos too.
http://www.trevorsbirding.com/
Anna Said...
These dainty fairies are the delight of my family & friends as they dance my garden at Inman Valley SA. Thank you for the photographs...perfectly captured
Hi Anna
Welcome.
Its nice to know people are still trawling through the back episodes of my blog.
Blue Wrens are very popular.
Denis
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