birding-aus

Re: Fairy-wrens, Eastern Yellow Robin and Hybridization

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Subject: Re: Fairy-wrens, Eastern Yellow Robin and Hybridization
From: Ronald Orenstein <>
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 21:40:45 -0400
>2) Does anyone know why Eastern Yellow Robins cling to the side of small
>trees, bushes, etc as oppose to perching "upright" on a branch while
>foraging?  Any thoughts on this would be welcomed.

I don't know, but I have always assumed that birds that perch this way (and
other robins do it too) may be surveying for a different range of insects
from those that perch upright on branches - particularly for insects of
lower strata and trunks.  The extreme of this behaviour may be the
"flushing" actions of Pied Monarchs.

>3) In terms of the number of people who have seen fairy-wrens which
>species is the most commonly seen across Australia?  I would guess that
>the Superb Fairy-wren is because it resides in the more populated regions
>of the country.

Surely the Variegated Wren (in its many forms) is the most widespread
geographically - but as the Superb is the species of areas like Sydney and
Melbourne it may be the one seen by the most people.

>4) Granted that fairy-wrens look different from each other, but do they
>also have commonly known differences in behaviour across species or do all
>species act pretty much the same?  There is much written about the Superb
>fairy-wren, but I have failed to find information on the behaviour of the
>other species.

There are a number of papers on the behaviour of other fairy wrens by such
authors as Ian Rowley and Robert Payne; look in recent issues of THE EMU,
including the guide to literature supplement published jointly with the
American and British Ornithologists' Unions.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
1825 Shady Creek Court                 
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          Internet: 
       


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