Recently I saw a beautiful little bird and cant work out if it is n Eastern Yellow Robin or a White-throated Gerygone. I have a photo but it wont upload to this site cos the file's too big. Would someone be able to give me some ideas of how to tell the difference between the two birds, please? :o)
WTG has a distinct white throat and is smaller than EYR. I know that sounds silly but it's true. WTG often hang about in the canopy of large gum trees and can be very hard to spot, they also have a melodious song and I have heard of them being refered to as bush canaries. Ray
i have neither of these species where i live,but i've seen heaps of photos
the eastern yellow's eye is brown,the gerygone's is red
the white throat patch of the gerygone is larger then the robins(if the robin has a patch at all)
and the robin has some yellow on its back,the gerygone has none
Thankyou both. Actually the photo did upload to my id (under my name), but it's probably too small to see...It has quite a large white patch on its throat but it was down at my level- not in the canopy...
glendafitz
Well, did it look like this? A male Golden Whistler.
M-L
if it looks like this, it's a Yellow Robin.
M-L
The call is the best way to id the WTG. It is a very distinctive call, you can listen to it here http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Gerygone-albogularis.
It had no black on its head so it definately was not a whistler.It looked like the yellow robin but with more white on its throat, which was why I wondeed if it was a gerygone. I think I'll have to go back to where I saw it and have a better look- and see if I can hear it's call.
glendafitz
Yellow Robins can have a bit more white on the throat, it puffs up when they are singing.
Thanks Greg for the link. What a beautiful song the Gerygone has, I have seen a female in my garden last year, but haven't heard the song before.
M-L
The gerygone is also called the white-throated warbler, because of it's song. The song is described in my guide as "falling leaf". I heard one at my place yesterday - lovely.
Yes, I'm sure I would've remembered such a beautiful song. I think it must have been an eastern yellow robin. Thanks for your help everyone :)
glendafitz
What an exceptional photo! Well done for capturing it so clearly.
Noosa Hinterland, SE Queensland
A WT Gerygone is going to be in the midstorey and canopy... EY Robins will be in the understorey or on the ground... the two don't look like each other at all... Lorne, Bundanoon, NSW.
images.google.com
Enter name of bird, bingo.
You can check BOTH species that way.
Thank you for the tip on where to search! Brilliant!
Noosa Hinterland, SE Queensland