I was outside the other day, when a particular sound caught my attention. I’m by no means an ornithologist, but I know a fair amount about the birds in my area, and I was quite certain of what I was hearing. I proceeded into the woods, following the sound. Finally, I spotted it. There it was, just on the other side of a large, rocky outcropping: the Large-Beaked Encroacher. It is a species that is now far more common in this area than it used to be.
Its habits are actually quite shocking. It will move into an area where other animals are already living and, using its strong, thick beak, will tear apart their homes and remain there for a short while. Then, it will quite suddenly pick up and move somewhere else, leaving other creatures to build homes in the space that it has left behind.
I’ve dimmed a patch on this photo of a Large-Beaked Encroacher so as not to spoil the surprise, which is that you’ve probably seen one before. If you look closely, you can see what it looks like. You can also click to reveal the clear image.
Stay out of the forest, you bloody developers.
Image: Originally by David Anstiss via Wikimedia Commons under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
Walking the Pattern 
