Many bird species attack their reflections in windows, mirrors and other shiny reflective surfaces. They do this because they cannot recognise their own reflection and instead they think the bird they see is a rival. This occurs during breeding season when males are defending territory and female mates against rivals.
This was the case at Dry Tank Campground in Gundabooka National Park. The area is dominated by mulga woodland (Acacia aneura). A Brown Honeyeater was very vocal around our camp site and soon after setting up, we noticed the bird taking an interest in one of our vehicle’s side mirrors. Having seen how some birds become obsessed with their reflection to the detriment of their own wellbeing and breeding success, I had a brief photo session and then covered the side mirrors with a couple of plastic bags.
My aim was to use this opportunity to take some close up photos of a Brown Honeyeater (1) rather than capture the bird attacking its own reflection, so most of my shots were studies of this fairly plain, aptly named honeyeater, which has a wide distribution, surprisingly loud calls (2) for a small bird, and is always super active (3).
NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.
The following photos captured the bird pecking its reflection.
NOTES:
(1) The photos show a male in breeding condition with a black gape - the gape is yellow in non-breeding males.
(2) The Australian Bird Guide notes regarding voice, “Highly vocal with a bewildering array of calls”.
(3) The Australian Bird Guide notes “Aggressive in defence of food sources, active and alert with swift, darting flight”.
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