Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens - one of the iconic birds of Central Australia

The Rufous-crowned Emu-wren must be one of the birds most Australian photographers and bird-listers would love to see and photograph. For a long time, I have been trying to get better photos of this tiny bird. Pizzey and Knight list it as 12-13 cms including the tail which can be 6.5 - 7.5 cms, meaning the bird itself without the tail is only 6 cms or so. In anyone's estimation, that is a small bird! Previously I have managed photos of the bird hidden behind many spinifex strands, and at a distance. Recently, however, I managed to finally enjoy some close up views, and delighted in their playful jumping, diving and disappearing act amongst the spinifex.

Their call is fairly high-pitched and quite short, with a few exciting squeaks from within the spinifex. It is almost as though they are saying "found an insect!" The males are more colourful than the females, but both birds are beautiful to see.

They seem to enjoy early morning, in full voice before the sun rises, then jump and hop around the spinifex for the first hour or so after sun rise. On the morning the photos were taken, there was a spectacular sunrise with cloud cover.

They are quite widespread through inland Australia, and I am very glad they are found only a short distance from my home. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Rufous-crowned Emu-wren

Male

Female

Sunrise

Habitat

Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Rufous Whistler and a Rufous, I mean Hooded Robin

Well it was a bit of a rufous day. Saw some Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens thanks to a local birder and their extremely reliable information. They know who they are and I thank them sincerely for sharing their information with me.

I went to the wrong spot to start with, and then found the right spot after remembering one of the vital parts of information. It took about an hour and a half but I was really chuffed when I heard and then saw these beautifully coloured emu-wrens. The shots aren't fantastic, I think there may be a bit of camera shake as this was only the second time I have actually seen these birds.

Rufous-crowned Emu-wren

 

On the same day and in the same location, I saw a Rufous Whistler who did an amazing act of multi-tasking - whistling while holding the grub. It didn't seem to worried by my presence and sat on a branch not far up from where I was standing. As you will see by the last photos it was almost as if it was parading his catch to me.

Rufous Whistler

And finally, by far the friendlest birds I have encountered recently was a Hooded Robin with a juvenile who I suspect has only just learnt to fly. My first indication of their presence was the peeping, demanding sound of the juvenile. The sound moved and so did I, and then I spotted them in the same location as a similar up-close-and-personal experience I had had with a Hooded Robin previously (you can view that post here). I did wonder if it wasn't the same original Hooded Robin but only a banded bird would truly tell me that and this is a wild bird with no bands.

The two birds were very accommodating, and sat on a low branch to start with about 3 metres away. I moved around the nearby bushes in an attempt not to scare them off, and sat down on a picnic table, but they had gone, or so I thought. Within minutes the adult was back, closely followed by the ever-chirping juvenile. I took some shots within 5 metres then the adult flew out of view, only to land within less than 2 metres from me, again followed by the juvenile which landed a bit further away, but still sounding hungry. Eventually they flew off, but I was then amazed at how trusting some birds really can be. Hope you enjoy (the many) photos of these two wonderful birds.

Hooded Robin and juvenile

Rufous-crowned Emu-Wren, Spinifexbird and Crested Bellbird