Don't Stand Still For The Goanna

I'm going to detract from the birds and tell you about the goanna today.  They are also called the Australian Monitor Lizard.  They are predatory creatures and hunt for birds, eggs, snakes, smaller lizards and insects.  they often take chicks and eggs out of birds' nests or catch a bird when its resting.

Needless to say, they are not a bird's best friend.  In fact the bird don't like them at all.  The birds have a good warning system.  If any bird catches sight of goanna, they alert everyone else.  All the other birds come and help chase the goanna out of their territory.  The goanna is clever at disguising itself. You will see from the slideshow (click here) that once they're up a tree, they blend so well with the bark that they are hard to spot. 

But the birds are also clever.  They form teams with members from different species, like the magpies, the honey-eaters, the butcherbirds, rosellas, galahs and noisy miners.  These teams stay on sentry duty keeping an eye on the goanna and keeping up the alarm sound so all other birds and the smaller ground creatures know where the danger lies.  When a bird tires, another bird joins the team and keep the guard fresh.

We can always tell when the goanna is near our front door hoping to get a drink at the water bowl that lies closer to the ground, because the birds make such a ruckus.  The saying is that one should not stand still in front of gonna as they might mistake you for a tree and climb all over you.  Yuk! That would be an unpleasant experience to say the least.

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Until tomorrow,

Cheers

Gitie

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