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Painted Honeyeater Hybrid? SE Melbourne

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Subject: Painted Honeyeater Hybrid? SE Melbourne
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Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:11:15 +1100
Hello, I've finished my 2 hr amateur video of birds in SE Melbourne now (filmed
over 3 weeks) and am working on the index.
 
The first puzzle is a honeyeater that is definitely not in the field guides. From
the size, shape and colour of the beak it can only be a Painted Honeyeater.
The complete lack of stripes on the pale breast suggests a female Painted
Honeyeater.
 
But the colour of the wings and head is totally wrong, it more closely resembles
a New Holland (or White-fronted) Honeyeater. The yellow patches on the wings
are large and there are two substantial white patches on the sides of the head.
There's a small amount of black under the head, more than for a painted
honeyeater but less than for even the western race of the white-fronted honeyeater.
 
Could it be a hybrid? The bird was filmed in a tree in the south-eastern corner
of the Seaford Wetlands.
 
Anyone who'd like to see the video (and help this novice identify some of the
birds) let me know. I live in Cheltenham.
 
-------------------------------------------
Dr David Paterson

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