Torresian Crow numbers dropping dramatically

The genetic diversity for the Torresian Crows in Tenterfield is entirely limited to it's own family members within one family group or possibly two. I'm starting to think all the Torresian Crows of Tenterfield are related to each other. The Torresian Crow that visits my place does not have a mate as far as I know. Just this year it's only offspring had left the area, and the remaining parent is always seen by itself. After quite a few years it still has white eyes. The blue-eyed crows left a long time ago.

Currently Torresian Crows, at least 2 pairs, are breeding (at the bottom of ST Joseph's Primary School and Jubilee Park) but offspring being born and actually survive is not good. About every 3 or so years I see a new generation of Torresian Crows but only one of which survives until it is old enough to fend for itself. The food demand for the chick/juvenile offspring is incredibly high until it is old enough to fend for itself.

Tenterfield's current population of this species mostly consists of younger generation birds - either children or grandchildren of older Torresian Crows. But here lies the problem - there is no other Torresian Crows, that I am aware of, that come into Tenterfield to increase the general population of this species. If there are others nearby they do not come into Tenterfield at all.

All that exists of this species in Tenterfield is less than 10 birds now. They seem to mostly inhabit the south-west corner of Tenterfield. These birds have been known to travel all across town searching for food when they are not breeding. They spend most of their lives near the Tenterfield Creek. They are a resident species of Tenterfield but some of them have already left the area completely. Torresian Crows are not a well liked bird in town but soon even they will eventually leave the area or die out as there is simply not enough food around to feed many chicks with. The crows that are here do not look hungry even though they scavenge through the rubbish bins. Nature is taking it's course with this species and I believe no-one will miss this species in town when they are gone (except me).

Pied Currawongs disappearing quickly from Tenterfield

There used to be a fair few (about 15 or so) Pied Currawongs here in Tenterfield that left town for a while then came back I think earlier this year. However, for about the last month or so, I have only heard and seen just a few individuals which I believe to be young ones that have not bred yet.

It is a crying shame to lose this species as they are such a lovely species even though they eat birds' eggs and young nestlings. Large numbers of this species used to inhabit Tenterfield as little as just 7 years ago. Now only one or two individuals remain. In time, perhaps as little as 6 months from now, this species will have left Tenterfield as well. It only takes 6 months for an entire species to disappear from this area if the conditions and their food source do not improve.

White-plumed Honeyeater Lichenostomus penicillatus

The White-plumed Honeyeater is a rare visitor to Tenterfield. I believe I have not seen this bird before or have not paid attention to it's calls before. I'm just not sure about this species as to whether it is a resident bird species or not. Either way I have yet to see any more than one individual of this species. below is a video I took of my first sighting of this species. The sighting occurred at my neighbour Carol's place on the 6th October 2012.

All I know about this bird species is it is shown eating something from the new growth of the tree it was seen in. I'm not even sure of the tree species it was in.

UPDATE: Grey Shrike-thrush nesting nearby

It's only bad news really. The pair of Grey Shrike-thrushes that were attempting to nest at my neighbour Carol's place, in the bottom half of the water fountain by her back door, have abandoned the nest and separated as a couple. The mate, more than likely a female, has not been heard from for probably 5 days now.

I was over visiting Carol yesterday and discovered the nest was empty. I took some photos but no eggs were even laid in the nest. The photos did not come out clear enough to add here. The nest was a crude attempt at building a nest, and was full of sticks and leaves, and some lichen and cobwebs by the look of it.

The male was spotted calling from trees when I was there, like he was trying to attract a mate. His song seemed desperate and urgent. The poor little fellow, I think he misses his mate.

As Grey Shrike-thrushes are not normally seen or heard in Tenterfield it may be some time before another bird comes along. His voice is loud, and for a very good reason. If you are the only one of your kind within a 10km square area you'd want to be heard too. Surrounding Tenterfield is lots of trees but generally Tenterfield is an open plains area mostly inhabited by willow trees and the odd gum trees. The entire area is not ideal for most bird species actually.

Why this bird simply didn't move away from the area with his new mate is beyond me. Why he didn't find a more appropriate nesting site is again another mystery. Having a large dog suddenly start barking and is known for chasing birds is not an ideal location for building a nest in that vicinity. It's stressful for birds especially if you are a newbie to the area.

Has it become so bad for birds that they are forced to inhabit areas in close proximity to human habitats? Where else are birds going to breed or sleep when there are barely any plant life outside of people's homes? Tenterfield is not designed for birdlife, and the areas in town outside of people's homes are mostly barren of plant life and generally are open spaces with lots of grass everywhere.

The Tenterfield Creek is also barrren, mostly devoid of trees and other plant life. I am surprised that the birdlife in Tenterfield is clinging to what little habitat there is here. The birds surely must be desperate to stay here, else they all would've left by now.

The Grey Shrike-thrush was the same, desperately clinging to life in what little plant life they could find. Obviously there was enough food in the area for them to stay but simply not enough plant life to breed in. Whether the male Grey Shrike-thrush finds another mate or moves elsewhere is anyone's guess right now. It will take time, if he chooses to stay here. However, locating more of it's own kind is almost next to impossible here in Tenterfield, as the male depends upon them passing through town before he can hopefully find a mate. His best choice is to leave town and try and find a population of his own species elsewhere and start again from there. As sad as it will be to see him go, there really is no other option for this species in Tenterfield.

Masked Lapwings haven't bred this year either but hope may be around the corner

The breeding season for Masked Lapwings is actually almost over for them, and none of the pairs I have encountered in Tenterfield for the passed 2 months have shown signs of breeding yet. However, as we have had some recent rainfalls this month (3 to be exact), just yesterday I noticed when walking passed 2 Masked Lapwings they were not moving on the ground. I only heard them as I could not clearly see them from a distance. They called out but did not move. This may be a really good sign that they might have finally begun breeding again.

However, nothing is certain right now. How long the rain actually lasts for is uncertain. How long these birds will be determined to raise a family is another story, as they might abandon their breeding cycle should the rain cease again.

More Masked Lapwing birds have moved out of Tenterfield in the last 12 months. No new breeding pairs have moved into the area either. With very small numbers of these birds in Tenterfield the possibility of this being the next species to move out of town is almost certain, if the drought continues.

I don't know the exact Masked Lapwing numbers for Tenterfield but I'm guessing it is less than 10 breeding pairs now. In all my travels around Tenterfield I have only ever seen, in the last 12 months, at most 3 breeding pairs, and they all are in the south-west area of Tenterfield. This species is becoming "uncommon" in Tenterfield.

I just hope that the rain returns to Tenterfield.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater eating Grevillea nectar

Thinking I was hearing House Sparrows out in my front garden I was quite surprised to see what I first thought was a House Sparrow eating nectar from the Grevilleas in my garden. House Sparrows don't eat nectar as far as I know. I've never seen them eat it anyway. I was a little bit suspicious of this bird being a House Sparrow so I got my digital camera out and put it in video mode, and found it was not a House Sparrow but rather a Yellow-faced Honeyeater. I couldn't ID the bird at first glance. I had to watch the video and pause it, then compare it to the Yellow-faced Honeyeater photo I took, that I've added to this site.

The bird was first located in the bush where I first zoomed the camera into, then it flew down into the Grevilleas closest to me. It look me almost 2 minutes into this video to locate the bird in my Grevilleas as the native Plum tree's leaves were mostly in the way. I could not also get the right angle to view the bird properly, and my reaction was slower than normal as I have pulled my right arm muscles and it hurts to move the camera and my arm.

This honeyeater species is the size of a House Sparrow. It is somewhat a noisy bird, just like a House Sparrow is, and it loves nectar. This is the very first video I have of this bird species in Tenterfield, and going on the rustling sounds and calls it was making I believe there were two of these birds but the other one always kept out of sight.

There are very few Grevillea plants in Tenterfield that I have seen, which makes it difficult for honeyeaters to locate nectar from these type of plants. It therefore must eat nectar from various other plant and tree sources in the local area. This particular bird's residence, I believe, is in the Tenterfield Creek well away from the roads, near my home.

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are much easier to video record and photograph than an Eastern Spinebill. It moves slower and ocassionally takes a rest as viewed in this video. However, it is a somewhat shy bird, and it prefers thick plant cover to hide in - or at least to roost in. This species may allow you to approach it from a distance if you do so slowly but that is just a guess right now.

Below is the video I took around 12PM today - give or take a few minutes.

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

Laughing Kookaburras are common throughout the township of Tenterfield but their territories are at least 1.4 kilometres in size. There must be at least 2-3 pairs of these Kookaburras in town but that is just a guess. Laughing Kookaburras tend to eat lizards, mice, and basically anything else including some small snakes.

Before sunset Kookaburras tend to get together.

Where to see Laughing Kookaburras:
The best place to see these birds are on power lines away from the main street. An adult Laughing Kookaburra has been observed on the power lines at the back of Bi-Lo supermarket on the edge of the grass park area, opposite the Catholic Church. They are also spotted and heard to the south-west of the Post Office (1.4kms from the Post Office).

I don't have a photo of a Laughing Kookaburra as yet but I do have this short video. I'm still trying to get my camera to focus on things above my head, and still need lots more practice with it.

Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa

On Thursday, 13 September 2012, I was by the Tenterfield Creek and this little Fantail came from the other side of the creek to this tree and began catching insects. I must have disturbed the insects as I walked passed the tree the first time. The second bird in this video is a Thornbill of some sort which I am still yet to identify.

In this area of the Tenterfield Creek at the back of my neighbour Carols' property, there is an amazingly high amount of different bird species confined to one tiny area of remnant bushland (in about 10 plants and one Eucalypt tree maximum). They all are either nesting in that small area or have made that area home. I have counted (identified) at least 6 different bird species, mostly the smaller birds though.

The Grey Fantail was first noticed in the area a few weeks ago by myself but it is more than probable it was there all along. I have only seen one Grey Fantail so far, but going on how active all the birds are it is possible that there are more than one Grey Fantail in the area. All I know about this species is they eat insects, catch insects in flight, and wag their tail like a Willy Wagtail. They also are solitary birds until they need to breed.

Red Wattlebird - Tenterfield population: one

Over the passed week I have noticed that the female Red Wattlebird has not returned. The behaviour of the remaining Red Wattlebird has changed, and seems to be making itself a new territory. It has been heard between the Skatepark near Manners Street and Laird & Pelham Streets corner, as well as places in between, especially near the Tenterfield Creek.


Video of the bird eating alone on my neighbour's back lawn.

UPDATE: 2 OCTOBER 2012 - The bird in the video is actually of a juvenile Red Wattlebird, perhaps 2 years of age, identified by the fact that it's tail and tail feathers lean to the left. The other 2 Red Wattlebirds I have observed in the past are adults and more than likely the parents of this Red Wattlebird. The parents have still not been sighted or heard and have more than likely left Tenterfield.

Yellow-faced Honeyeater Lichenostomus chrysops

Today, whilst taking photos of House Sparrows in my neighbour's garden when waiting for her to come home, I took this photo of what I first thought was a House Sparrow. But the photo reveals some other bird, perhaps even a Fantail or Wren of some sort. This bird just flew into the tree then moments later it was gone.

Having spent the last hour trying to identify this bird, even though the photo is somewhat blurry and I cannot identify any colouring, going on the facial markings and size alone, it is identical to the Yellow-faced Honeyeater.

If you enlarge this photo you will see a distinctive light coloured streak that runs below the eye, and a up then backward curved streaked directly behind the eye.

I do not know anything about this species. Taking this photo was just by luck. Only one individual bird was sighted.

Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala

Noisy Miners are called that for having a very loud voice and for making it's call which is repeated continuously by other flock members. Many people don't like these birds for the sounds they make as it becomes irritating after a while.

Although these birds are common in Tenterfield, their numbers have decreased due to the drought, because a lot of the birds went elsewhere several years ago.

Noisy Miners are easily identified by their grey, black and yellow colouring as well as by their call. You normally hear these birds before you see them but often they can be silent and are just seen without being heard. They normally flock in small groups but seeing flocks of them in Tenterfield has become rare. They are now normally seen alone, in pairs, or very small family groups of less than 10 birds.

I have seen a Noisy Miner eat nectar from my Grevilleas as well as blossom from the native Plum tree by my bedroom window. They also eat small insects, fruit, and sometimes small reptiles. They have been known to eat human food.

Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

Eastern Spinebills are very shy birds and are easily frightened. They love nectar from Grevilleas. I have 4 Grevilleas in my front garden, one that only flowers in Spring, and 3 dwarf Grevilleas that flowers all year round. All 4 Grevilleas have red flowers. The Eastern Spinebill that visits my Grevilleas does so (preferably) a day or two after it has rained, giving the nectar a sweeter flavour. However, the bird visits the Grevilleas all year round, despite the lack of rain. About once a week I water the potted plants that are near the dwarf Grevilleas, so the dwarf grevilleas do get a bit of runoff tap water from the plants I water.

Late Sunday or Monday afternoon, about dusk, I noticed there were 2 Eastern Spinebills eating the nectar from my dwarf Grevilleas as I was about to unlock my front door. I had just got home from a walk into town. I have never seen 2 of them before. I was elated to say the least. One flew off into my large Wattle tree, and the other one stayed in my garden but hid itself in the taller Grevillea bush. So obviously these birds are solitary birds and only come together and form pairs when they are breeding or about to breed.

I am still yet to get photos of this bird. I do not know which gender it is either. Here are two videos I took of the Eastern Spinebill eating nectar from my Grevilleas. The 3 dwarf Grevilleas are to the right of the flowering tree/bush. The tree/bush in the middle is a native plum tree sapling. It, along with the main parent plum tree, as well as my Grevillea (far left) were mutilated and cut back to barely nothing.

In the first video I sneeze at about 18 seconds so turn the volumn down as the bird does not make any noise.

It is seen eating the blossom nectar from the native plum tree at first.

Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans

Photo taken by Eleesha Hardy, © September 2012

Crimson Rosellas used to inhabit Tenterfield many years back but moved out about 4 - 6 years ago due to the drought. They have only begun to return to Tenterfield in the last 2 - 6 weeks despite the drought continuing here. Recently, one pair of Crimson Rosellas have so far been sighted in town, in the south-west area.

They are easily recognisable as the only bird that is almost entirely red and blue in colour, with blue cheeks, and black on their back and tail feathers.

These birds are between 32 - 36cms in length and mainly eat seeds from grasses, eucalypt trees and shrubs, as well as some insects.

There have been no recorded sightings of cross breeding with other rosella species in the Tenterfield area of these birds. Crimson Rosellas in other parts of the country have and are cross breeding with Eastern Rosellas and Pale-headed Rosellas. The pure bred Crimson Rosellas are what you will see in Tenterfield and they prefer to hang around their own kind but will tolerate Eastern Rosellas as well as Australian King Parrots if in close proximity to them.

Galah Eolophus roseicapillus

Galahs on my front lawn in 2005.

The Galahs here in Tenterfield are one of the bird species that migrated elsewhere when the drought became a bit severe. They used to live in Tenterfield in large flocks and were sometimes seen flocking with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos.

Ocassionally Galahs are seen in Tenterfield but it is rather infrequent. When they are old enough they form a permanent bond with a bird of the opposite gender which become lifelong mating pairs. Galahs live to be about 80 human years of age.

One of the unusual antics of Galahs in Tenterfield is when it rains they love to hang upside down on the power lines. It is quite funny watching them going around in circles like an acrobat on a wire. This behaviour is not seen in Galahs in Whyalla or Mannum (South Australia) so I'm not sure if this is a normal behaviour for the Galah species or if it is a learned behaviour of the Tenterfield galahs.

I don't know about Galahs elsewhere in Australia but in Tenterfield these birds tend to go beserk and fly about chasing each other at full speed. I have seen them ocassionally dive bombing passing cars for the fun of it and sometimes even chasing other birds. When chasing other Galahs or other birds they do so roughly 20-30 feet off the ground half the time. Other times they chase each other at a higher altitude. Galahs are quite the silly bird, do not fear anything, and always appear to be having fun.

Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes

It was almost sunset and this Crested Pigeon was in the shade at my neighbour Carol's place yesterday.

There are not many Crested pigeons here in Tenterfield's south-west. There may be 4-6 individual birds at most. They do not breed rapidly and in fact I don't know much about these pigeons. I do know they nest in a thick dense bush about 4-10 feet from the ground. I know this because my neighbour Carol told me she found a Crested Pigeon sitting (on eggs) in a nest in her native rose bush/climber. Other years the Crested Pigeons have made a nest higher up in dense cover in Carol's garden.

I was about 6 feet from this pigeon when I took a very quick photo of it as I was walking passed it. I do know this particular bird has a mate but I have only seen a baby Crested Pigeon a few years back. There were probably about 10 Crested Pigeons in the immediate area about 6 years ago but most of them were probably eaten by birds of prey.

Several years back I always had problems with one of these birds flying head first into my front windows and sometimes the front wall. They would get startled, panic, and fly off without looking where they were going. Fortunately none have been knocked unconscious in the process. As a result, and because other birds have done the exact same thing, I stopped regularly cleaning the windows of my Flat. This has actually prevented the birds from flying into the windows.

I'm hoping to get a better picture of the pair of Crested Pigeons soon as they have such pretty coloured feathers.

Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

I don't know the gender of this bird. It is on my
front lawn.

This Satin Bowerbird has been a frequent visitor to my front garden, and my neighbour Carol's garden for the passed two months. In the last few days it has disappeared and has not been sighted since.

Satin Bowerbirds arrive in Tenterfield around the 16th of June each year and by the end of July they are gone. However this one stayed longer than normal.

More commonly sighted are the female and juvenile Satin Bowerbirds but only one adult black male seems to visit the south-west area of Tenterfield. Many like the one in the photo arrive as well but over the years the numbers that arrive in Tenterfield has been declining.

In July you can hear the adult male calling but it is elusive and next to impossible to take a photo of. It hides itself in thick bushes or high in the tree tops behind a branch so you cannot see it. The adult male knows you are there but never allows you to see it, or momentarily lapses on it's sense of judgement and you see a flash of black fly passed overhead.

When the adult male is here it eats berries from this bush below, which is in my neighbour, Carol's garden.


The bush is much bigger in real life.



The berries are finished and are now going to seed.

No Satin Bowerbirds breed in Tenterfield as I have never seen them in Summer which is when their breeding season is. One thing I do know about Satin Bowerbirds is they love apples and will gobble up apple pieces quickly before any other bird eats them.

Because this particular Satin Bowerbird (see photo at top) hung around for a while, it treated most of the local birds with respect. However, it recently encountered a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets which it took a great disliking to, and attacked both Lorikeets every moment it got when they were eating the seed in Carol's bird feeder. I have never seen the Satin Bowerbird actually eat seed from the bird feeder so I cannot explain why it would attack just two birds in the bird feeder and not any other birds like the Australian King Parrots or Eastern Rosellas that were also present in the tree at the time.

The following 4 photos was taken from one of the Rainbow Lorikeet videos taken on 14 August 2012. It shows the Satin Bowerbird deliberately attacking the Rainbow Lorikeet, jumping onto the tree branches in the middle of the tree then turning around and having a second attack at the bird. It also attacked the other Lorikeet higher up in the tree branches. It obviously did not like the Rainbow Lorikeets being there.

Shot 1

Shot 2

Shot 3



Shot 4


I guess I'll have to wait until next year before I can add something else about Satin Bowerbirds in Tenterfield. I doubt this one bird will be returning in a hurry.

Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus

All of the Rainbow Lorikeets moved out of Tenterfield about 6 years ago due to the drought worsening. These birds are a very aggressive species and do not share food with any other bird species. They will chase away any bird that wants the same food as it is eating.

Whilst at my neighbour Carol's place two Rainbow Lorikeets showed up and aggressively took over the bird feeder. In Video 2, the local Satin Bowerbird took an aggressive disliking to them and tried unsuccessfully to chase them away. Video 1 and 2 were taken about 3/4 an hour apart on the 14th August 2012, around 5pm. These videos may be the only recent video recordings of the now non-existent Rainbow Lorikeets of Tenterfield.

Video 2


Video 1


Footnote: 20 August 2012 - This pair of Rainbow Lorikeets have only been sighted once since these videos were taken. They have not returned since. I am guessing they were just passing through and were having a rest for a few days before they moved on again.

UPDATE: 2 OCTOBER 2012 - This pair of Rainbow Lorikeets tend to disappear for about 3-4 days then come back again. These two individual birds are the only Rainbow Lorikeets I have thus far seen in Tenterfield. Both appear to be adult birds and possibly a breeding pair.

Torresian Crow Corvus orru

A Torresian Crow on my front lawn.

In Tenterfield there appears to be only one family of Torresian Crows numbering about 15 individuals in total as of December 2011 to February 2012. These birds do not breed in large numbers, and only appear to have one hatchling every few years.

Some of their offspring have been deformed but that is possibly due to interbreeding. One of the local Torresian Crows has developed a human like cough but apart from that appears to be healthy.

The local Torresian Crows are mostly carnivors but will eat fruit, nuts and any human food left out. They are spotted frequently raiding rubbish bins for food, if the rubbish bins are not sealed properly on a Tuesday and Thursday morning. They also seem to enjoy playing and/or ripping up junk mail and newspapers that are delivered here in town.

The Torresian Crows of Tenterfield can be spotted just about everywhere in Tenterfield, including Rouse Street. They have been spotted sitting on the actual street light posts at the intersection of Manners and Rouse Streets, amongst other areas in town. They are also known to follow certain humans into town and back again, if that human walks into town from their home to do grocery shopping. That has happened to me more than once.

These birds are ruthless at getting food, especially human food. They are not well liked in Tenterfield by humans and are considered to be a nuisance. If any humans feed the bird life in Tenterfield, the Torresian Crows will always show up hoping to snatch food from the other birds. There is very little that these crows don't eat. If there is an excess of human food available, especially in Summer, Torresian Crows in Tenterfield have the habit of burying food nearby. This behaviour has been observed on many ocassions several years ago. However, the Torresian Crows seem to forget where they buried their food.

The local birds are intelligent but very slow learners. They respond to humans pointing at food - this I believe is a learned behaviour - and their reactions are quick and precise.

However, one behaviour of the Torresian Crows I have noticed over the years is if human food is available, and there are Australian Magpies also at the scene, the Torresian Crows will attack the Australian Magpies by pecking at their backs to scare them away from the food.

Australian King Parrot Alisterus scapularis



A local solitary male Australian King Parrot.
© Photo taken by Daniel C. Hardy
about 2008 - 2010.

There are a small flock of Australian King Parrots that I believe live in Tenterfield. They are sighted daily feeding in my neighbour Carol's garden at the bird feeder. I am not sure if any of the birds in the video below are breeding pairs.

There used to be large numbers of King Parrots in Tenterfield some 8 years ago but then the rain stopped falling and the environment began to dry out and most of them left. A few years ago some of the King Parrots returned despite the ongoing drought and have since stayed in Tenterfield.

The males are predominantly red and green with a red head whereas the females are green and red. The females are slightly smaller than the males and are more shy and more easily scared off if approached by a human. Australian King Parrots are about 41 - 43cms in length and are one of the bird species consistently spotted in Tenterfield, especially seen in the late afternoon prior to roosting in tall trees.

The Rotunda at Jubilee Park

You often see these birds at Jubilee Park feeding on tree seeds that have fallen to the ground in Summer. You can safely get 12 feet from the male Australian King Parrots without them flying off at Jubilee Park. If these birds are spotted at bird feeders, you can safely get 6 feet from these birds, only if you walk slowly toward them. Some of the local male King Parrots do not seem to mind humans taking photos of them, and seem to pose for the camera. King Parrots seem to enjoy the company of humans, especially solitary ones who don't have a mate yet. Males of this species are more commonly sighted than females due to a lack of large numbers of breeding pairs in the area.

Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta

Restless Flycatcher - I did not take this photo.

Whilst visiting a neighbour one day last month, my daughter, my neighbour and I were standing near a tree. There were a few birds in the bushes by the Tenterfield creek but not in our immediate area. Then suddenly this bird flew into the tree and started singing and then flittering around whilst catching insects from the ground.

At first I thought this bird was a Willy Wagtail but looking closer at it, the bird was slightly bigger, longer, wider and slightly fatter than a Willy Wagtail. It actually looks like a Willy Wagtail on growth steroids at first glance.

I've actually been confused about this bird, as I have heard it's call before but had never seen it up close. I have a few videos of it's calls near my place but the audio is a bit disappointing. When it really starts singing it sounds like a Whipper Snipper machine.

When this video was taken I saw a second Restless Flycatcher, which was identical looking to this bird just smaller in size and was not getting as close to us humans as this bird did in the video.