The winter light was perfect today for showing off the stunning colours of the Tui. This image is a rough one but the iridescent blues being highlighted make it worth posting. This bird had just swept through moving another Tui and several Sparrows away from the sugar-water feeders. His flight-path saw him perch briefly here in the Wonga Wonga vine. Tui look black from a distance but any dark feathers are brown.
Tauhou enjoying banana, Blackbird looking to me in the hope of food, Tui singing at full throttle in the afternoon sunshine.
My friendly and brave Tui who featured in my blog post yesterday was also happy to show me various other poses. I suspect the Tui was really on watch for intruders approaching the feeders but also for the small flying insects that they catch as part of their varied diet.
The sugar water feeders were empty today and my friend here sat on the fence to alert me to his or her hunger. My reward for coming out with new supplies was this Tui stayed still and allowed me to sneak very close to take some photos.
Tui are not known for being sweet “smiling”, benign birds. Rather they are well known for their aggression and territory dominance. Their beauty in colour, feathering and song draws many of us in to love them and be fascinated by them. Enjoy this grumpy bird image!
Showing us their growing wattle feathers at the base of their throat.
The Tui are back at the feeders after a very quiet period in the last 4-6 weeks.
There are lots of conversations going on. Some friendly enough….
Others not so much
ordinarygoodness 