Ruru and the grumpy tui

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Yesterday, working at Maungatautari, I disturbed a morepork roosting a few m in front of me. It flew away, then moments later came straight back toward me with a tui right behind. The tui hit the morepork and they tussled on the ground next to me for a few seconds with much squaking (long enough for me to have the childish thought; "I should see if I can grab them"). They took off, and the tui hit the morepork again before they dissapeared off through the trees, tui still in pursuit.

I've seen plenty of small birds mobbing moreporks, but this was the most dramatic chasing off I've seen.

Morepork was back at same roost this morning.

Have a good weekend

[Ian Southey]

Even a Bellbird will fly at a roosting Morepork but they only flinch a little bit. I have never seen a Tui acting quite so aggressively but they but I have seen them fly at a Morepork with more than just a hint of intent hard enough and close enough to make them shift.

Ian

[Clinton9]

In Thames, seaval months ago in afternoon I found a morepork sitting on my fence next to my avairy full of my budgies, I had to shoo it away, then it flew to a mature aussie tree.
Then I went to the tree just nearby to my place and after looked for an owl, I noticed the adult male blackbird acting aggressively...morepork flew eastward, acrossing Queen Street and to bush, with an angry blackbird in pursuit.
Blackbird had been flying after owl, to mob it.

[tim]

Hi Neil,
I always see Tui take on Morepork, they do seem to be quite bossy around them and do hit them hard and fly after them, normally when I see a tui around a morepork that I am photographing its pretty much over as the morepork gets pretty scared of them.
Bellbirds, silvereye's, fantails and grey warblers from what I have found dont seem to bomb it but just alert other birds.

Did you get any photos?

[Neil Fitzgerald]

No photos. Not even a camera, as I was working.
I've been on the sharp end of plenty of tui claws, but I still reckon it must be a risky business going at it beak and claw, rolling around on the ground with a morepork.