Bird of the Week - Bernhard Schmitz Photography

Whilst I’m a fairly novice bird watcher, Suki the cat had always a great interest in birds for her own reasons. With the exception of cooked specimens, I tended to ignore feathered animals before I moved to Australia in late 2005 to join Mrs. Schmitz in Sydney. This changed soon after we settled in the suburb of North Bondi where the sheer abundance of colourful and exotic species sparked my interest in avian topics. I started to write down bird inspired observations which I put on this little weekly blog about Australia, Sydney and the feathered and not feathered locals.

Bernhard Schmitz & Suki the cat

SEE BIRD OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE >

The Azure Kingfisher (Alcedo azurea) or Azurfischer 2013/06/13

It’s hard to believe when looking at this feathered jewel, but according to a zoological rule called Gloger's Rule this little Azure Kingfisher of the race azurea should have a visibly duller plumage than their tropical cousins of the race rufficolaris.

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) or Großer Emu 2013/05/30

I haven’t revisited any bird species so far in this series but in this case an exception is justified because this one is not only an quintessential Australian icon, but also noteworthy for the bizarre events known as the Great Emu War.

The Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) or Blässhuhn 2013/05/22

These common and well-known crakes can really crank it up with their calls and make therefore quite noisy neighbours; nevertheless I would happily swap a flock of these for the fussing telecommunication equipment on our rooftop any time.

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