Apostlebirds gather in gangs and squabble over ... well, everything it seems, but they're particularly fond of arguing about food. They also appear to scheme. They behave like a cross between the Jurassic Park velociraptors and Wile E. Coyote. Great plot hatchers are the apostlebirds.
On the way up, I watched them slowing down traffic on the Leichhardt Highway north of Goondiwindi. Like the white-winged choughs further south, they spread out on the road, forcing all but the largest trucks to brake. I was sure that they were practising car-jacking. Once they learnt to open a vehicle door, there'd be no stopping them. (Curse these useless wings!)
My suspicions were confirmed* by the activity of a mob of apostlebirds in Chillagoe. When a toddler dropped his sandwich, the birds were on it in a flash. They cleaned it up in seconds and still had time for a barney. But then the child decided to retrieve his food. He approached the birds. They retreated.
But they didn't move very far. They scampered a short distance, then paused. It looked as though they were luring the child to a nearby tree. Why? Well, hidden somewhere in the branches there was almost certainly an Acme anvil. (Curse these useless wings!)
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* For very small values of confirmed
