Silvereyes have been flocking to a spare (& stale) bread bun which we tied up on our verandah. They are smaller than sparrows and dunnocks. The book says that males have a slightly more chestnut colour on their bellies - apparently, though I think it's hard to tell. They are also known as white-eyes or wax-eyes.
There was much squabbling and in-fighting as they sort out their dominance heirarchy. Some flitted their wings in appeasement. Some had full-on fisticuffs with talons almost locked together as they flew upwards; like miniscule birds-of-prey.
They first came from Australia in the mid nineteenth century, probably from Tasmania. And they didn't take long to spread right across the country. Now they are probably the commonest garden bird.
