Colluricincla harmonia is a neighbour who almost needs no
introduction. He is the neighbour who is singing in your garden as
you read. He is commonly called a Grey Shrike-Thrush but to good
friends and neighbours he answers to just ‘Thrush.’
‘Thrush’ is cheeky and inquisitive; he hops along your veranda
rails with his head on one side, peering into your house to see if
you just might have a plate of yummy spiders and frogs that are too
much for you to eat! He will tap on your kitchen window to attract
your attention and will even venture through the open laundry door
to pick through the dog’s bowl.
‘Thrush’ is so bold because he has great responsibilities. His
magnificent song has won him a wife and she is not half so bold as
he is. Together they have chosen a nest site and made a bowl nest
of dry bark and roots; they are planning to raise a family. The
nest at your house may be in the bank of Fish-bone Ferns or in the
Staghorn on the garage wall or in the fork of the Black Wattle.
Mrs. Thrush will lay two or three pearly white eggs freckled
red-brown and blue- grey and then, with her breast already as
fluffy as an eiderdown, she will set about the serious job of
incubation.
‘Thrush’ now has his work cut out, providing for the little
woman. He will search the spider webs along your eaves, he will
search in your garden and, once the eggs hatch, he will beg.
Mrs. Thrush will need to join in the food gathering as the
chicks grow and one day soon you will have two or three
uncoordinated young thrushes, a little more stripped than their
parents, visiting your veranda. Welcome them to the neighbourhood
please.
Rosemary Birney
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