Hello all,
The wader-watching at Woody Point SE, Queensland, (down the street from my
place) has been a bit slow this year but I have noticed a couple of Bar-tailed
Godwits already in advanced stages of breeding colour.
The amount of colour on these birds suggests that one is a male and another is a
female.
Could it be that these birds have retained their colour from 'last season' or
are they just being precocious?
Also I have noticed a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits with extraordinarily long
bills.
Obviously these are females but I am wondering if they are from the sub-species
baueri.
According to my reading of the Bar-tailed Godwit section of The Handbook of
Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) this species, especially
those that breed in Alaska, have the longest bills.
Is it possible to identifier the various sub-species (HANZAB says there are
three in Australia) of Bar-tailed Godwit in the field.... other than in the
hand?
Cheers
Bob Inglis
Woody Point
Queensland
Australia
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