Western Australia, John Forrest NP, poss Rufous Whistler (1 Viewer)

[citrinella]

We thought this was a rufous whistler but
the bill is light
it isn't very rufous.

So, is it a juvenile ?

We are not too clued up on time of breeding season. This was shot on 2/10/14, are plenty juveniles fledged by then ? it looks quite a strong bird, not obviously fluffy and new out the nest.

Mike.

 

[timsg80]

Looks like female Rufous Whistlers I've seen in Aus. I couldn't tell about whether or not it's a juvenile!

 

[Dimitris]

Female Rufus Whistlers look just like this.

Edit: The eye seems to be completely black which would point towards a juv. bird, but hard to be certain from these images.

 

[citrinella]

Female Rufus Whistlers look just like this.

Edit: The eye seems to be completely black which would point towards a juv. bird, but hard to be certain from these images.

Thanks Dimitris,

We had noticed the eye colour. Pictures in one of the guides suggested adults could have dark eyes.

Actually, we are not impressed with the guides. We have Morcombe; Simpson and Day; and Slater. The latter is old and taxonomically out of date, but we definitely find the illustrations most realistic and most usable due to a simple, easy to use layout.

Thanks also to TimSG80.

Mike.

 

[Dimitris]

Thanks Dimitris,

We had noticed the eye colour. Pictures in one of the guides suggested adults could have dark eyes.

Actually, we are not impressed with the guides. We have Morcombe; Simpson and Day; and Slater. The latter is old and taxonomically out of date, but we definitely find the illustrations most realistic and most usable due to a simple, easy to use layout.

Thanks also to TimSG80.

Mike.

No problem ,

With regard to field guides: Slater and Simpson have the best illustrations. Simpson has poor text, Slater has ok text, while Morcombe has atrocious (don't bother identifying seabirds and shorebirds with Morcombe) illustrations but overall the best text. Australia could really use a Collins type field guide...

Fortunately Australian birds are generally much much easier to identify than European ones with most being very distinct and similar species having different ranges and/or calls so you don't need an excellent field guide .

D.

 

[njlarsen]

I still love my old Pizzey and Knight

Niels