Fast Eddie meets Fat Freddie - lining up the hut boys

19 November 2009

Fast Eddie, the tomtit, is looking a little ruffled recently. Instead of just one hut tomtit begging daily for worms, now we have two! Who is the competition? Fat Freddie, a male tomtit from the south side. Eddie and Freddie are having a bit of a tussle over the territory.

Let's face it, this is a great place for a tomtit to live. There is a never-ending supply of mealworms to score with minimal effort. All you need to do is fly a lap of the hut, make sure that one of those humans spot you through the window, and look cute and hungry - and if that is not enought to get their attention, throw in a pathetic chirp or two. Eddie is good at this, especially if the weather is bad. We will be washing the dishes, and he will come cheeping at the kitchen window with his feathers stuck down from the rain, looking all bedraggled and forlorn. Eddie is particularly keen on worms right now - his girl is sitting on four eggs down in the trees on the north side of the hut.

Fast Eddie and Fat Freddie look identical to us humans. So how do we tell them apart? Take a close look at their ankles. Eddie has a red band and a blue band on his right leg, Freddie has two red bands.

Fast Eddie

Fat Freddie