Learn to ID: Which Butcherbird is That?

Provides tips on how to tell the difference between Pied and Grey Butcherbirds across Australia (focusing on the South-East QLD region). Includes how to identify species visually and by-ear.
Note for viewers from Darwin and surrounds: the visual ID rules for our Grey Butcherbird translate to your Silver-backed Butcherbird. The Silver-backed has a different song to our Grey.
You can use the following calls to practice identification by call:
Pied Song 1: xeno-canto.org/733293
Pied Song 2: xeno-canto.org/343751
Pied Call: xeno-canto.org/602313
Grey Butcherbird: xeno-canto.org/434538
Our meetup and this content are free. If you'd like to contribute, you can buy me a coffee with the link below. Funds go towards video creation and meetup admin fees.
www.buymeacoffee.com/BirdsSEQ...

Пікірлер: 46

  • @LindaWallace-c8g
    @LindaWallace-c8g2 күн бұрын

    Love your video and thank you for upskilling me in my quest to identify my local bird life.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    Күн бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it. We're lucky to live here, there's plenty of bird life to be found 🙂

  • @johntomasini3916
    @johntomasini39167 ай бұрын

    Great video. Where I live now the are Grey Butcher Birds, this morning they were picking up some small chicken scraps I had left over. Where I used to live there was a family of seven Pied Butcher Birds, they were very friendly because the bush fires had reduced their food supply, so we were hand feeding them, along with Magpies, Currawongs, Lorikeets, Cockatoos, Galahs and a range of other birds to numerous to mention. The most forward of the Pied Butcher Birds was Cheeky Bird, he would land on my shoulder, hop down my arm, look me in the eye and ask permission to eat the food from the container on my lap. If I left the patio door open there would be Magpies and Butcher Birds sitting on the lounge, they have no boundaries.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    7 ай бұрын

    That's amazing to have such a close encounter with them. Thank you for helping them out during the bushfires, and sharing your experience 🙂

  • @huirimhelenkang9679
    @huirimhelenkang9679 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for the editing - i found a bird today which has beautiful singing talent my friend tell me that could be Magpie or Butcher bird And Pied calls wow that i have been looking for ! So beautiful singing Thank you once again 🙌

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    11 ай бұрын

    Great to hear you can now track down the owner of the beautiful song 👍

  • @demurets
    @demurets11 ай бұрын

    They are beautiful birds. I live with them in Hervey Bay. I feed and them and sometimes we sing together!

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    10 ай бұрын

    That sounds like a treat. I've got Pieds where I live. They are still weary, we're not at the singing stage yet. One day 😊

  • @goalking7778
    @goalking77787 ай бұрын

    Epic video mate

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    7 ай бұрын

    Thank you 🙂

  • @Boop45
    @Boop45 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, that was really useful.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    10 ай бұрын

    Thank you, your feedback is appreciated 😊

  • @rodrok8510
    @rodrok8510 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks ...really helped ... our 2 juveiles and older pair are becoming close songsters at my back yard

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    11 ай бұрын

    That's great. They have such beautiful songs. Especially in the rain

  • @john_barnett
    @john_barnett Жыл бұрын

    Would like to see more videos about other SEQLD birbs

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    11 ай бұрын

    Thank you. I have one in the works at the moment 🙂

  • @john_barnett

    @john_barnett

    11 ай бұрын

    @@birdwatchingse-qld2253 Lorikeets and other small parrots would be fun and colorful

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    6 ай бұрын

    Great idea. I might do them after the next one. I think most Aussies think there is only one type of lorikeet (the rainbow), but we have plenty more!

  • @Hemux0
    @Hemux0 Жыл бұрын

    @Bird Watching SE-QLD Thanks Rob for this video, always good to revise already acquired knowledge! I have a little family of pied butcherbirds that come eat at our place several times a day. I interpret their sex by their behavior, as I am no professional, but the young one asks for food in a typical fledgling way and the female is much more lovely, almost lets herself pat. Love them, beautiful singing and calls. Not as smart as Magpies though I would say. The family of Grey Bs that lives 20m away from the Pied Bs never comes.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    11 ай бұрын

    Thank you, and great that you can tell the sexes apart by behaviour. I'll be sure to watch out for this next time I see them 👍

  • @DonGladwin
    @DonGladwin6 ай бұрын

    Enjoyed the video a lot. USA HERE.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    6 ай бұрын

    I'm glad 🙂 It's quite a journey to Oz, but you'll be ready to ID our butcherbirds from the get-go! USA has so many beautiful birds, I'm happy with the American Magpie and Blue Jay, amazing

  • @DonGladwin

    @DonGladwin

    6 ай бұрын

    Hairy and Downey Woodpecker m / f individual's can be id'ed. That is what I was wondering about Butcher birds.@@birdwatchingse-qld2253

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    6 ай бұрын

    Wow, that's fasinating. I don't think we can do that with butcherbirds yet (besides DNA). I'll keep an ear out for any development in this space for butcherbirds ☺️

  • @DonGladwin

    @DonGladwin

    6 ай бұрын

    @@birdwatchingse-qld2253 My comment about wood peckers is missing, ubube, i bet did not like the word WoodPECKER. I think it great they protect us harmful words, like bird names.

  • @DonGladwin

    @DonGladwin

    6 ай бұрын

    I mention the name of that Downey, deleted before a minute was up. Love it.

  • @user-jr1bl6tc3k
    @user-jr1bl6tc3k8 ай бұрын

    Thanks very informative from wa

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    8 ай бұрын

    Thank you for the feedback 🙂 I'm currently editing a new video also including butcherbirds. I hope to cover the lesser known Australian butcherbirds in a future video. Stay tuned 🙂

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253
    @birdwatchingse-qld225310 ай бұрын

    I heard someone the other day refer to the Pied Butcherbird "missing you" as "peak-a-boo", so you can use this if it helps you remember 👍

  • @robertovilches3096
    @robertovilches30968 ай бұрын

    My beloved magpies

  • @gregwells8764
    @gregwells87642 ай бұрын

    nice ! means ive got both species, although i only ever see the Grey. Have found them nesting here on my little 3/4 acre up on the dividing range north of Toowoomba. hope they dont eat the Fairy Wrens that have just turned up !

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    2 ай бұрын

    Cool that you've got both species. Don't worry, your fairywrens should be fine as long they naturally prefer to hang around dense vegetation to hide in (the butcherbirds won't be able to get to them).

  • @wildhomevideos
    @wildhomevideos2 ай бұрын

    That's very interesting. For some reason I always thought the grey Butcherbirds were bigger than the Pied. When the Grey Butcherbird fluffs up its feathers it looks significantly larger then it is, so it is hard to compare. We live in a rural area and have both butcherbirds on our property but they are not used to seeing people and keep their distance. We do get to see the Grey Butcherbirds more often and from closer for some reason. I actually don't think they would eat pie, not even raw meat pie I don't think. Raven would be right into it though😅 Possibly in the city, but we have never seen our wild Butches to be even remotely interested in food that is not live. You know our Butcherbirds don't have the same song as yours. I really can't hear the "missing you" in their calls. It must be that our WA birds have evolved slightly different taste for music. Recently we published a video featuring an immature butcherbird which we were convinced that it was a Grey but after seeing this video I am not quite certain any more. Hmm.... and we put a label under it! I hope we haven't made a mistake😐In any case, this is a very informative and well presented video and we appreciate all the information👍

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    2 ай бұрын

    When they fluff up they can look so much bigger (that's why birds do it as defence mechanism or to impress the opposite sex). It's good that they are weary of humans, it keeps them safer, especially from pet cats. I went to WA just last year and I agree, the birds definitely have a different accent there (and sometimes songs too). The WA Australasian Swamphen is so beautiful! I had a quick look, that looks like an immature Grey 😊

  • @wildhomevideos

    @wildhomevideos

    2 ай бұрын

    @@birdwatchingse-qld2253 Thank you. I am relieved and we really appreciate it. There were certain angles in the footage which made us a bit uncertain. We really don't know much about birds, we just like their company. It is really nice to get confirmation from an expert

  • @caroncato419
    @caroncato4199 ай бұрын

    😊

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    8 ай бұрын

    👍

  • @dianemurphy6589
    @dianemurphy65897 ай бұрын

    I’ve been trying to identify a bird I hear in my home area by its song. I’ve made a recording but haven’t spotted the bird. Is there some way I can send the recording for your opinion? I live near Camden NSW.

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    7 ай бұрын

    Hi Diane, you can send the recording as a message to our group on Facebook (facebook.com/BirdsSEQLDMeetup?mibextid=ZbWKwL)

  • @DonGladwin
    @DonGladwin6 ай бұрын

    Anyway to ID individual Pied Butcher birds?

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    6 ай бұрын

    That's a tough one. Other than banding, you could possibly tell from plumage pattern variation but you'd need a keen eye and a good memory. It might be a bit easier to watch for their personalities. Either way. It will require much observing, which isn't a bad thing 🙂

  • @DonGladwin

    @DonGladwin

    6 ай бұрын

    Thank's for the reply. Guess I will stick to Hairy and Downey Woodpeckers.@@birdwatchingse-qld2253

  • @paulbeswetherick1071
    @paulbeswetherick10716 ай бұрын

    Great job Rob! Is there a bird with similar tones to the Grey Butcherbird? Trying to ID one that calls in the morning, Coastal NSW, sounds like "keep your pants on"! i put the recording here : kzread.info/dash/bejne/Zq5slreheZrHdc4.html

  • @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    @birdwatchingse-qld2253

    6 ай бұрын

    The bird in your recording is a Grey Butcherbird. Butcherbirds love to remix their songs to keep us on our toes haha. That one sounds almost parrot-like but there's definitely a Grey in there. I love that mnemonic!

  • @paulbeswetherick1071

    @paulbeswetherick1071

    6 ай бұрын

    Yep, Very appropriate for the early riser! Thanks for the speedy response@@birdwatchingse-qld2253