Stone Curlew

[luckydog]

This protective mum gives me the eye as I get near her two babies


http://cracked-lenz.smugmug.com/photos/27026674-M.jpg

[Annabella]

This protective mum gives me the eye as I get near her two babies


excellent! i wouldn't want to cross her...

[bfjr]

Whada look and whada an eyeball :wow :D

[gus]

I saw the title & thought...this has to be a new 0zzie to the board & it is !!

Welcome to Dgrin Lucky Dog. Great shot They are an odd bird...here is a sample of their call (http://www.abc.net.au/archives/sound/b069001.ram)

They often called at night when i was a kid & their call was quite mornfull & scared the hell out of me.

Gus

[ginger_55]

I love that "motherly" look. Is her head on the ground?

ginger

[Nir]

Great catch luckydog!

[jwear]

very good capture :thumb how about a look at the whole bird :): not sure i have seen one thanks

[Skippy]

This protective mum gives me the eye as I get near her two babies

Those birds are kind of out of proportion aren't they .....their eyes just seem way too big for their heads, and then they have those long legs to go with the body.......they kinda look odd :rofl

First time I saw one of those up close it was standing just a few feet away from me acting like a statue, and I was stunned at the size of the eyes on it.

Nice shot of the bird :D he sure is giving you the "EYE" isn't he :rofl
Welcome to Dgrin luckydog...... Skippy (Australia)

[luckydog]

Thanks for all the cool comments folks :):
The reason they have such big eyes is because they are night hunters, just like our hooting type friends. They nest on the ground and will defend their young quite aggressively. As I approached she stretched right out like a long stick and didn't move (except that eye, which followed my every move).

jwear - I'll see if I can dig up a full body shot for you.

humungus - Yeah they have a really eery/haunting call about them.

Nice to see so many Aussies in here. Looks like an opportunity for a future Aussie meetup.