Perhaps he saw the "male" calling [ie saw the bird making the male
call].
Regards, Laurie
On Sunday, May 18, 2003, at 09:16 PM, Dean Portelli wrote:
Nicholas Talbot noted that he recorded Eastern Whipbird at Redwood
Park and made the following comment: "best view was of a male just
coming into adult plumage". I am curious as to how the sex of the bird
was determined. In my experience with the species the sexes are
indistinguishable based on plumage (and I just checked, the latest
HANZAB states the same), with at least some established pairs it can
be relatively easy to tell them apart when they are together (the male
is larger. I spent some time helping a PhD student working with a
colour-banded population so all the sexes were known once the birds
had been handled, measured and banded).
I wonder if Nicholas is using Pizzey & Knight's field guide, if so the
labels on the plate are incorrect. They should read from left to
right: juvenile (NOT Imm.), immature (or first basic plumage NOT
female) and adult (or definitive plumage, NOT specifically male). The
text describes the female as being browner with white mottling on the
throat. HANZAB makes no such conclusion.
Cheers, Dean
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