A Familiar Voice Poem by Francis Duggan

Pee wee pee wee as I lay beside the lake
Pee wee pee wee that voice one can't mistake
That song he sing all day from dawn till dark
Australia's most familiar magpie lark.

Like Aussie magpie coloured white and black
But magpie's size and vocal range he lack
Still magpie lark doesn't take a second place
To bird supposed of far superior race.

The name lark comes from the way he run around
Like skylark do when running on the ground
And others call him mudlark because he
Build cup shaped nest of mud on branch of tree.

And others simply call the bird pee wee
Due to his often repeated melody
And pee wee pee wee the only notes he sing
All through the year from Summer to the Spring.

As I lay here in town park by sunlit lake
I hear that voice the voice one can't mistake
Pee wee pee wee the song of magpie lark
The song he sing all day from dawn till dark.