Hello Craig,
You've raised an interesting question as to whether immature
Chestnut-rumped Hylacolas (I like Hylacola better than Heathwren!) have
dark eyes. I briefly observed an immature CRH near Awaba (west of
Newcastle, NSW) in December 1997 that I noted having no striations on the
chest and a very dull eyebrow. Its identification was made easier by its
being with its presumed parents. Unfortunately I didn't note the colour of
its eye. From memory I think that it had a dark eye. Generally speaking,
young birds do have darker eyes than older birds (at least finches do!).
I've had a quick scan of a few books and I can't find any mention of eye
colour in immatures. I've just started a little study on hylacolas in my
spare time. If I get the chance I'll take a closer look at immature birds
(probably not until later in the year). Does anybody else know anything
about CRH eye colour?- I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who does.
Not having much experience with Victoria I've no idea about Shy Heathwren
distribution but I know that both hylacolas are supposed to be in the
Bendigo area although separated by habitat choice. If you get the chance
check out a couple of great little articles by Eddy (1959) and Ryan (1979)
on both Hylacola species in the Bendigo area and their complete separation
by habitat. Going by my map Rushworth is about 60 km east of Bendigo?
What is the habitat at Rushworth? Whatever the bird was it sounds like a
great spot.
Cheers,
Mick Todd
Michael Todd
Toronto, NSW, Australia
email-
References
R. J. Eddy. Heath Wrens in Central Victoria. Australian Bird Watcher 1 (2),
1959.
J. V. Ryan. Nearly forty years with Hylacola spp. Australian Bird Watcher 8
(2):42-50, 1979.
At 02:00 PM 30/03/01 +1000, Rotamah Island Bird Observatory wrote:
has anyone else encountered this species in this area? The above
mentioned characters led to believe that it was not a Chestnut-rumped
Heathwren, do immature C-r H's have a dark eye, I guess
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