Babbler

Babblers are small, flock birds that often fall prey to predators.  Their size and vulnerability however does not stop them from making friends with other species.

The babblers loved our dogs, because they knew they were safe when the dogs were around. Both Scotty and Benny would chase any hawks that tried to land on the gate or trees in our yard.

The Babblers are vulnerable to attacks from larger predatory birds like hawks and eagles. While they would fly off at the slightest hint of disturbance, we noticed that they seemed to like hanging around the magpies. 

 Babblers are flock birds. They flit about enormously and are very hard to catch for even a second's stillness. I guess they rely on their constant movement to confuse any predators. When they saw me trying to photograph them, at first they were nervous. Then they liked the attention and actually stood still for half a second and I managed to get a few reasonable shots.