The Annual "Flock Dance" of the Currawongs

In my book (page 106) I wrote about the currawongs doing their "annual flock dance". It's quite a thing to see - and I look forward to it each autumn (although Laka, our macaw, doesn't - they totally freak her out!).

The flock dance ritual has begun - and I managed to get a couple of photographs of one of these birds when it perched on our deck rail:



I admit to being unsure of which type of currawong this is. The markings seem like the Pied Currawong, but Pieds have a hook on the end of their beak, and this bird doesn't have that. The colours on the birds we are seeing are soft charcoal grey, so perhaps they are Grey Currawongs - but the photos I've seen of greys don't show the white markings (as you can see in the photo above). If anybody seeing this post happens to know - I'd love you to post a comment and tell me what you think the bird is.

Currawongs are lovely birds - stately and graceful in flight. They aren't particularly "friendly" in the way that the magpies and wild parrots are, but they do come around to investigate if there's a crust of bread laying around. The magpies resent their presence and will drive them off, snapping their beaks in threatening way.

I also got a short video clip of the same bird - he (or she?) isn't moving around much, but in the video, you can hear the sound of the flock (which we think might have had as many as 30 birds) in the trees. At the end of the video, I moved the camera slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the birds dancing, but unfortunately it didn't come through.

Here's the video: