“Unquestionably one of the greatest gossips in the bush, putting even those chatterers, the Noisy Miners or Soldier birds, to shame on occasion, Willy was happy as long as he knew what was going on around the place. His mate was similarly inclined, but she hardly got a chirp in edgeways when Willy had the floor—or branch.” —C. K. Thompson, Willy Wagtail, pg 12.
C. K. Thompson portrays this small black and white bird as the greatest gossip in the Australian bush country (the Australian backcountry). Willy just has to know what is going on and must be in everything. When some birds are fighting with some other birds that are trying to take their nest, Willy is the referee, to make sure that it is a fair fight and there is no cheating. When there are cuckoos, Willy is the first one to kick them out. But sometimes his nosy ways get him and his mate in trouble.
I have seen a trend throughout some of C. K. Thompson’s books. There are some children in the story, to show how humans interact with the animal of the story, so in Willy Wagtail there are four or five boys who are in a gang, who interact with Willy Wagtail. But these boys just aren’t that great. When they are by themselves they are just fine, but when they are together they fight and do stupid things. For example, one of them sits in a tree and drops an egg into the throat of one of his buddies. When the gang leader’s parents are gone, the group takes out a barge into the swamplands, which they are not allowed to do. It is dangerous to use the barge without an adult in the swamp, because there are hidden logs and bogs.
Even though the boys in this book are jerks and disobedient, the part about Willy Wagtail and the bush country is amazing. In one of the other books by Thompson, Thunderbolt the Falcon, Willy Wagtail and the other birds from Willy Wagtail are in it. I say this because I love the way Thompson made a world that is consistent. For example, Willy, in ThunderBolt the Falcon is being just what he is like in Willy Wagtail. Not just in the book, but also in the real world, because the world that Thompson draws for us is real Australia. Though the characters may be fictional, I can almost guarantee you there is a willow tree on a creek with a Wagtail and his mate in it.
