Okay, you experts out there. Is there a bird in the Wide Bay Burnett area that could be confused with a black faced cuckoo shrike that has joined WeightWatchers; doesn't shuffle its wings on landing and prefers to travel in small groups, presumably to qualify for the discount? I have tried searching but still can't find a match. I keep seeing other birds as well that aren't on any search databases but this bifcus look-alike is appearing more frequently. Incidentally, there are black faced cuckoo shrikes here as well and their behaviour is as expected.
David
No idea
Wed, 08/10/2008 - 18:16
#1
David
No idea
Hi David
Not sure if your bird has joined Weight Watchers, or need to do so.
If it is a bird of very tall treetops, then consider the Cicada Bird, which is a Cuckooshrike in everything but name. Very different call, however - hence the name.
Cheers
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Thanks, Denis. I am unable to find a decent photo of the cicada bird but what I did find doesn't quite fit and the descriptors don't quite tally either. These birds are silver with a black mask and, at first glance, would simply be dismissed as a bifcus. The only slight difference is that they appear to be more streamlined, more svelte. I can't see anything else about them to make them more notable. I would rule on them as being bifcus except for the behavioural differences e.g. not shuffling the wings and always in company of five or more birds. They are also a little more active and don't tend to sit for very long contemplating what they should do next.
This place abounds in birds I can't identify or don't act like the same birds I was used to seeing in the tropics. Even the willy wagtail does it differently here. Strange.
David
I'm in the wide bay area and my only suggestion is a masked woodswallow. A smaller bird but not slim. Suggest you get your hands on a field guide, the local library (if there is one near you) should have one.
See Yez
Trev