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Willie Wagtail
Rhipidura leucophrys picata
-17.336, 123.646
Field Notes
Description:
The Willie Wagtail is the largest, and most well-known, of the Australian fantails. The plumage is black above with a white belly. The Willie Wagtail can be distinguished from other similar-sized black and white birds by its black throat and white eyebrows and whisker marks. The name wagtail stems from the constant sideways wagging of the tail. (Birdlife Aus)
Habitat:
Hanging about near the edge of the waste water treatment wetlands.
Notes:
Research featured in the 'State of Australia's Birds 2015' [http://birdlife.org.au/education-publications/publications/state-of-aus…] headline and regional reports indicates that the Willie Wagtail is declining in some regions, while increasing in others. (Birdlife Aus)
The Willie Wagtail was a feature in Australian Aboriginal folklore.Aboriginal tribes in parts of southeastern Australia, such as the Ngarrindjeri of the Lower Murray River, and the Narrunga People of the Yorke Peninsula, regard the Willie Wagtail as the bearer of bad news. It was thought that the Willie Wagtail could steal a person's secrets while lingering around camps eavesdropping, so women would be tight-lipped in the presence of the bird. The people of the Kimberley held a similar belief that it would inform the spirit of the recently departed if living relatives spoke badly of them. They also venerated the Willie Wagtail as the most intelligent of all animals. (Wiki)
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