המועדפים של thebeachcomber

Today I saw these two Scaly-breasted Lorikeet juveniles together with a Rainbow Lorikeet flock and no adult Scaly-breasted Lorikeets. The two juveniles were sticking closely to these two Rainbow Lorikeets and were both food begging, vocally and physically, of the two adult Rainbows. However, after they watched the two Rainbows eat they would imitate the adults also eat the same food (sunflower seeds and pet lorikeet mix). The two adults were behaving towards the presence of the juveniles in the same manner as I've seen other Rainbows do so with their own offspring.
My suspicion is that the adult Rainbows overtook a nest site occupied by the parents of the Scalys. Then ended up unintentionally incubating the eggs left behind and when they hatched they imprinted and reared the Scalys as their own. I think this is an interesting case of Rainbow Lorikeets fostering the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets.

This observation is for the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets.

Soaked from the foggy morning. Uncommon colouration, but coat colour is no longer considered a good indicator of dingo purity with around 5% of dingoes naturally being black. Dingoes in the Northern Territory are very pure and therefore it is likely this one is too.

Ever seen a Drag Race? Here's the BBD equivalent.

From right in the West to left in the central-East of Lake Knox. Around 10 seconds from stop to stop, around 100 metres, maybe more - neither I nor the camera could keep up.

The Start - He stared at me from the West of the lake, about 15 metres out from the overhanging Swamp Gum on the Western bank. Quickly snapping to full alert, tail fanned at 90 degrees, turned sharply 90 degrees right, staring briefly to 2 male BBD's and the juvenile female BBDling in the Central-East of the lake and surged forward, wings flapping furiously, feet churning clear of the water in a Top Fuel Dragster style acceleration, I was stunned! I snapped away, just couldn't keep up, the camera couldn't focus - the fastest duck there is! He stopped flapping short of and behind the other 3 BBD's into a controlled crash of waves surging to the left and right and a flurry of disturbed water, wagging his tail quickly and briefly in satisfaction as he headed to the other 3 who'd watched in interest. I reeled back, stunned, before stepping back for the final pic.
There is NO WAY they can access or exit small enclosed ponds, and they're just not seen on them. The amount of Real Estate needed to attain flight speed, let alone gain height, then the high-speed controlled crash of a landing, staggering! They are the fighter aircraft of ducks with the huge runway they need to take-off and land and the high-speed flight - low wing to heavy body ratio means high speed flight, just like modern jet fighter aircraft. Evolved for deep diving, less for flight, even less for land - they're rarely seen on it as it's difficult to walk, huge legs biased behind them they wobble awkwardly.

Enjoy the sequence