White-throated Treecreeper
Female, anterior
White-winged Chough
Fledgling Eye, Pointing Straight
| White-throated Treecreeper Female, anterior | | White-winged Chough Fledgling Eye, Pointing Straight | | ||
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Chordates (Chordata) - Birds (Aves) | |||
| Order: | Perching Birds (Passeriformes) | ||||
| Family: | Australian Mud-nester (Corcoracidae) | ||||
| Species: | White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) | ||||
| This Photo: | Fledgling Eye, Pointing Down | ||||
| Other name: | Bush Chicken | ||||
EXTRA - Photo Specific Information: It'd be easy to think the pink is skin, the way so many other birds have a coloured eye ring (or periorbital area; skin around the eye). But this photo & the next show how the pink is the exterior sclera (white of the eye in humans). General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), and elsewhere A dark red eye is only visible on the brightest of days. The white wings are only visible when in flight as a band. Very dark brown bird, normally looks black; but the brown can be seen in the right light. Very timid; they post sentries to warn of danger. Ellura has a flock of 30+ birds visit regularly. Very social. Wayne calls them "Chickens of the Bush"; very apt. We've seen them eat a small lizard (skink). Recently Marie found an occupied nest and so I was lucky enough to get some stunning photo's of them. Due to this we now know that the exterior of the Sclera (white of the eye in humans) is pink. The interior of the Sclera (brown, green, blue, etc, in humans) is Deep Red. But in fledglings they are Brown. This species is unusual in that it is Near Threatened locally, but RARE at a State level. | |||||
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