Not long after the magpies started coming around for a feed, a family of butcher birds arrived. They seemed a bit more shy and I've never tried to hand feed them. One day in March 2008 I saw two of them on the edge of the warehouse roof looking down at me. In between the two adults was a young butcher bird and it was obvious the parents were introducing the baby to the local take away shop!

I named the baby "Baboo" because she was ever so sweet. Never showing any fear of me, Baboo flies into the warehouse to perch either on my work table or on the big ladder. Her feathers were cream and brown as opposed to the adult black and white - good camouflage colours! One of the magpies tried to be a bully and take her mince but Baboo wouldn't let him. She backed up and sat down on the bit of meat and let out the loudest vocal objection. The maggie didn't know what to make of that and left her alone.

Butcher birds tend to all look alike and I can only tell them apart because of their personalities. Two of them were obviously the parents. One is quite shy and hangs back while the other (Father pehaps?) comes right up to the roller door. A third butcher bird must be a sibling to Baboo. He didn't seem all to happy to have a youngster around and would occaisionally try to peck the baby. Not much different from some human families!