The Noisy Miners

The noisy miners live up to their name As the noisiest family in their neighbourhood You always hear them calling in small groups On trees along the border of the wood. With yellow bill and yellow around the eyes And overall dark mottled to light gray And band of dark across the head and face I see them often though not every day. I've seen them in flocks of up to thirty even more And together they defend their territory Unlike some birds of man they don't stay shy And they are easy to observe and see. They build cup shaped nest of grass and lined with hair Wedged in the fork of higher branch of tree And three to five cream spotted eggs the female lay And the young are raised by all the family. At nesting time they defend their territory Against small predators and birds of prey They mob the nest robbers kookaburra and currawong And small hawks and butcherbirds they chase away. The noisiest family in their neighbourhood Are the noisy miners birds I often see They live in flocks of up to thirty even more And they vigorously defend their territory.