I guess I was holding still successfully enough to allow this little guy to relax.
I was actually watching him, and not moving, when he began his little toady rhythm section. After my first photo I moved the camera. He instantly froze, little pouch still distended but not making music any longer. It deflated ever so slowly as he held perfectly still waiting for the danger to pass. Finally he concluded that I must have just been a bush swaying in the breeze… Well, I don’t know what he thought, but he resumed his interrupted serenade.
That stick-like object in front of him is a dry grass stalk. See how much tinier his little front legs are than the dry grass?