Bird at Munghorn Gap

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akasha
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Bird at Munghorn Gap

Anyone have any ideas on what this one is? I saw it at Munghorn Gap (near Mudgee) in October 2008.

Thanks

GregL
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I can't see it very well but it looks like a grey shrike-thrush.

akasha
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I went back to Munghorn Gap last weekend and got better pics of this bird. It's a Jackie Winter.

birdie
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Are you sure it was the same bird Akasha... looks a bit big for a Jackie Winter?

Sunshine Coast Queensland

GregL
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That big dark eye is very typical of a shrike thrush.

birdie
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Greg, if I post a pic on here could you tell me what it is then? I always thought that eye was a female golden whistler, but I may have been wrong it seems. Unless they look similar?
Have to hunt it out then I will post it. It is one ID that keeps me wondering

Cheers

Birdie

Sunshine Coast Queensland

GregL
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Birdie, female golden whistlers and shrike thrushes can be very similar, but the shrike thrush is bigger and more grey rather than brown. I have had a shrike thrush around the house for some weeks now so I am very familiar with them, the first picture in this thread looks very like one but I couldn't swear to it. I see them at very close quarters and they have a certain attitude you can recognise. We also have golden whistlers but the females can be very confusing, they seem to look like a lot of other birds such as robins etc.

birdie
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So what would you say this is Greg, I think it was identified before as a female GW, not a very good shot as it was taken through the window but I did rescue one that stunned itself and I think it was the same kind of bird if not the same bird as this. I have pictures if this one is not good enough.

Thanks

Birdie

Sunshine Coast Queensland

GregL
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I can see why there would be confusion, I think your bird is probably an immature shrike thrush. The fact it collided with a window is more like a shrike thrush, they like to hang around buildings. If you learn the call you will hear them in lots of semi-rural situations, they are more common than people realise.

akasha
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These are the pics I took of the Jackie Winter.



It was the white marking around the eye and the white markings on the wings that made me think they were the same bird. I'm pretty sure this one is a Jackie Winter, I know it's not a Grey Thrush-shrike, I did see some of those too.

These are some other pics I've taken at Munghorn Gap:

Pair of Musk Lorikeets


Musk Lorikeet at it's nest. It was feeding young.



Yellow Thornbill

And some other critters and scenery there:


akasha
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I saw a Grey Shrike-thrush, not a Grey Thrush-shrike, hehe.

GregL
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Great pictures Akasha, sorry to doubt you. ID from a photo is always going to be only a guess. In person it is easy to tell a jacky winter from a shrike thrush, but in photos they can look very similar. Things like distribution, flight, behaviour, call and habitat are so important to an ID but not part of a photo. This forum can be a help to point someone in the right direction but it is up to the person who sees the bird to decide what it is.

I love the lizard,did you see it in winter?

akasha
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Hi GregL, thanks for your help. I saw the lizards on the October 2008 trip. I was back up at Munghorn on the 17th of this month. There are alot of birds there but the scrub is dense and they aren't used to people so I found it hard to get many good photos with my camera which only has 6x zoom. Munghorn has over 200 species recorded and isn't very big. I go up there hoping to see a Regent Honeyeater because they are relativly common there.
I noticed on the introductions board that your from Bathurst, I'm not far from there myself. I spend alot of time at the Orange Botanic Gardens. There is an amazing variety of birds there considering how small the gardens are and the birds are all used to people being around which makes it easier to get photos. I've seen a couple of Blue-faced Honeyeaters hanging around there over the last few weeks which was exciting because I hadn't seen one before.

Gelmir
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G'day Akasha,

Your Musk Lorikeets are in fact Little Lorikeets. Notice how the red extends down the cheek and under the chin. It's hard to make out in the first shot, but it's easy to see in the second one.

akasha
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Thanks, Gelmir. You're right, I had another look at the original pics and my field guide. They are Little Lorikeets. Yay, another one to tick off the list.

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