Hi Bob
Like you
say, if you don’t get to see the crown, I don’t think there’s any definitive
rule one can use for separating Tree and Fairy Martins.
The Fairy
Martin’s familiar short churring call is unique though – the Tree Martin doesn’t
have it. That’s reliable.
For what
it’s worth, when I look at them I find the Fairy Martin to be a cleaner looking
bird with a whiter rump, and a little finer too - the Tree Martin is just that
bit chunkier. There is nothing like the experience of seeing the two species
together to test this sort of thing out. If you can apply this sort of thing repeatedly,
you’ll find it will either work for you, or it won’t.
Different
styles of id do work for different people when you get into these somewhat subjective
areas.
There
might be people out there who can talk about the difference in the blues – but I
can’t.
Please
tell me how you get on.
All the
best
Bill Jolly
“Abberton”,
Lockyer Valley,
Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697
6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[On
Behalf Of Bob Forsyth
Sent: Tuesday, 27 March 2001 11:35
AM
To: Messages Birding-aus
Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Martin
Identification
g'day all,
I would
appreciate any clues how to identify Tree M's from Fairy M's when they are
on the wing.
I find it
virtually impossible to keep my binoc's focused on the head of a flying
bird,....and it is often a long time before they land.
I have seen
both species flying together. At the sewage ponds when they do rest up
they will select different powerlines but out bush they settle as a mixed
group.
At rest,
I have no problem identifying the head markings
Our
local birds when flying never look as different as illustrated in the
field guides.
Regards, Bob
Forsyth, Mount Isa, NW Qld.
