The Pied Currawong

Another visit to the Japanese Gardens to see what is happening as spring moves along here and we find a very interest behavior with a couple Pied Currawongs. They are laying on the ground playing in a very unusual way.



Up, under a tree in the leaf litter beneath it, we find this pair (male and female?) of Currawongs engaged in what might be mating foreplay. Or maybe it is just play? Hard to know. I don't know if the guy is pulling the gal's leg or the other way around.

This is probably the most unusual scene of all: one bird on his/her back while the other looks on.

I have absolutely no idea what is going on here. E and I did due diligence on the web and turned up nothing. If you know what this behavior is about, please let us know in the comments.

Below, we se that one has put a foot on the other and is "owning" them. I guess it is the male in the dominant position, but who knows?

When a third Currawong appeared, they reverted to "normal" and slowly walked away. Kind of like what to teenagers would do if caught fooling around in the bedroom, eh?

This is all very strange and I can't believe that we are the firs to document this. They were not hiding and were' timid - I wasn't that far away - maybe 5-6 meters. I stood on the edge of the walking path that people had been walking along for some time.

It is very strange to see. Nature is stranger that we can often imagine.