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  1. P

    Finch/weaver ? in South Africa

    Thanks, Douwe
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    Finch/weaver ? in South Africa

    Please could you help with the identification of this bird. It was photographed by a friend in a suburban garden in Johannesburg, RSA. From the bill I think that it must be some sort of weaver/finch/seedeater. It may be an immature Thick-billed Weaver, which Newman states "like females, bill...
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    Google maps for Opus locations

    Hi Ian, Delia and Jim Thanks for replying to this thread. Delia, you have obviously put a huge amount of work into this and I wasn't aware that the UK locations had a Streetmap link [I hadn't even heard of Streetmap until I followed your links]. I also followed your link for the Sept Isles NR in...
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    Australian birds after the floods

    Hi MJB, Thanks for your kind words. We are lucky to live high in Brisbane and experienced heavy rain and no flooding but, as you will have seen from the TV, many houses did get flooded or otherwise hammered by the floods. This has resulted in a great deal of local and national support for those...
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    Google maps for Opus locations

    Hi, I don't know if this has been covered before but I think that it would be a valuable addition to the Opus Locations if they could incorporate a Google map. As I'm sure you know, the scale can be varied so a reader could see where the location was in a country, perhaps also with the tags...
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    Australian large cuckoo

    From your description, it does seem to be an Koel. The illustration in my ealier Slater shows a yellow head, compared with the more rufous shown in Pizzey & Knight, so there may be some variation in this. I have put a couple of Koel begging calls up on xeno-canto [I've split the URL into two...
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    One more from Queensland Australia - can anyone ID?

    Hi Sheriol, This is a Blue-faced Honeyeater, but an immature bird which has green facial skin rather than the blue in an adult. Pete
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    Can anyone ID these Queensland Australia birds?

    Hi Sheriol, The male is the "pretty" one, of course! The female is the brown bird with a streaked chest, it can be confused with an Olive-backed Oriole but the oriole has a red bill (unless imm) and always looks more slender. Pete
  9. P

    Can anyone ID these Queensland Australia birds?

    Hi Sheriol They are male and female Australasian Figbirds, of the southern race sometimes called "Green Figbird". Regards, Pete
  10. P

    Is your Dad an ornithologist? - a new term for birders

    A few of weeks ago I was out birding on my normal route along Bulimba Creek to Minnippi Wetlands, when a couple of walkers saw my binos and said, "Are you a twitterer?" I told them that they probably meant "twitcher" and then, yes, I was a mild one.
  11. P

    "Seagull stops play"

    I think that my id of the species (galahs and drongos) was not too far off the mark;) As an ex-Zimbo I was quite happy with the result. Cheers, Pete
  12. P

    Wonders Down Under: Singapore and Australia June-July 2009

    Hi Andrew, My suggestion on your fish photo is that they are Hump-headed Batfish Planax batavianus - probably sub-adults. This species is more elongate than other batfish and I think their shape fits those in your photo. The subadults lack much of the dark bands of the adults, although in your...
  13. P

    "Seagull stops play"

    The aussie cricket team have brought over their own assortment of galahs and drongos.;) Should be a good final test.
  14. P

    Australian Sound Recordings

    Ground Cuckoo-shrike is rare but ? regular on some of the turf farms to the west of Brisbane. I've seen them on perhaps 8 out of 25 day-long censuses of the area - but I've never heard them call! Cheers, Pete
  15. P

    Common and Grey Seals - a comparison

    Hi John Thanks for that pointer about the Farne Isles. I can pick a red roo from a euro at some distance but I'm all at sea when it comes to seals ....... sorry for that! Pete
  16. P

    Common and Grey Seals - a comparison

    Hi Dave, This is a very useful posting. As you know, we'll be in this area in October and hope to be able to find some seals, along with the birds. I've seen seals years ago at the Farne Isles but subsequently I've never been sure whether they were common or grey - hence not ticked! Cheers, pete
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    Castro Verde/Mina de Sao Domingos/Serrania de Ronda, Coto Donana 25 - 27/6/09

    Hi Nick, Great report. We were in some of this area in January 2002, self driving but at at more sedate pace as befits our age!! Your account makes us want to return in summer since there are a lot of species we missed in the winter. One of our most memorable sights was watching cranes fly in to...
  18. P

    Australian Sound Recordings

    Hi Mark Xeno-canto australasia has been launched and I have just posted a short clip of a Black Honeyeater that I found calling at Lark Quarry (home of the dinosaur footprints) in western Queensland. Can't help with the rest of your wish list though, most are b... rare!
  19. P

    Anatomy Question

    This is definitely the male intromittant organ or phallus. It's best not to call them a penis because they differ from the mammalian penis in a number of respects ( erection by lymphatic flow not blood; external groove not an internal urethra, no passage of urinary products). They are large...
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    Birding sites around York ??

    Hi Everyone, Many thanks for all these rapid responses. I'll certainly be following them up. The suggestion of putting up a "shopping list" sounds good and I'll try to pull out some needed species. I spent 3 years in the UK in the late 70's and visited Bempton a couple of times then - wonderful...
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    Birding sites around York ??

    I'll be spending a few days in York in early October and I'd like to go birding (or generally looking at nature - plants, butterflies, etc etc) while my wife spends some time chasing up our family history in the Borthwick Inst. For the first couple of days I would have to rely on public...
  22. P

    Mostly Scotland

    Hi Alan, Thanks for this account, it made interesting reading. I'll be visiting Campbeltown in September. While my wife follows up some family history, I hope to get some interesting birds. I visited Bempton Cliffs in the 70's and they were exellent. Cheers, Pete
  23. P

    Top tip for Sun Protection

    From the skin cancer centre of the world (or so we are told) my response is don't mess with the sun. I've already had chemo to my nose for sun damage acquired as a youngster out in the bush with insufficient protection and prior to the availablilty of sun screens. I now always wear...
  24. P

    Rosella and mynas - Sydney, Australia

    Hi Vwectis, Interesting observation. I wonder if it is similar to mobbing behaviour. When a mixed- species group mob a predator or possum, there often seem to be some aggressive species that are actively involved (eg the miners and butcherbirds) while others remain on the periphery more as...
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    Audio only lifer?

    Hi, What no one has mentioned in this thread is the problem of one bird mimicking another's song or call. Maybe it is less common in the northern hemisphere but it is certainly a problem here in Australia. I'm sure you all know the wonderful mimicry of the Superb/Albert's Lyrebird (from Sir...
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