Quite a mouthful !

As is their custom, our resident Grey Shrike-thrushes have again nested in the corner of our shed, and their three eggs have successfully hatched. The parents have been warily landing in a tree just outside the shed before going inside, and it is interesting to see the wide range of prey they are carrying to the hatchlings: a great variety of insects, spiders and even small reptiles, like the skink pictured above, probably the common Garden Skink.

What’s surprising to us is that the skink was taken straight to the nest when the chicks were, we think, only a couple of days old, still blind and largely bald – see picture at right. This particular visit by the parent seemed short – not long enough for it to tear the skink into manageable bits, so presumably the young chicks were somehow able to handle the meal themselves!

A few days later, and a noise made by us in the shed was often enough to trigger the gape response in the hungry chicks expecting a parental visit, as seen in the photo below, which clearly shows their yellow/orange gapes.

No Heinz baby food for these youngsters!