Dubbo's birds

All spotted at Dubbo Zoo, though only one of them was an official exhibit.

Here's an emu.



















And an apostlebird. Wikipedia tells me it's also known as a grey jumper, a lousy jack, or a cwa bird.

And the Australian white ibis. This one's widely known as the 'bin chicken', because of its passion for hanging out in and around rubbish bins, in Sydney parks and elsewhere. Some love it, but most of us do not.

Outback wildlife

All the usual suspects were on parade for us during our edge-of-the-outback trip the other week.

The coat of arms was well represented, as ever. So kangaroos popped up all over the place.  Unfortunately they were often horizontal on the road, being eaten by birds of prey. Emus sensibly lurked a little further from the road, and were mainly to be photographed using the telescopic end of the lens settings.

 

There were pelicans on the banks of the mighty Darling River. There were herds of grazing cattle and sheep who were, like the kangaroos, quite oblivious to road rules or personal safety.

And then there were apostlebirds. They're quite common west of the Dividing Range. They're not at all shy, and they tend to get around in groups of 12 or so. Hence the name!

The wedge-tailed eagle takes the crown for me  for its sheer magisterial presence. This one had been feeding on a dead kangaroo on the road, and was annoyed by the presence of our car. He decamped to the paddock nearby to await our departure, flapped his enormous wings a few times and did a few circuits. But he wasn't going to yield possession of his tasty find.