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gibberbird eggs

To: Chris Brandis <>
Subject: gibberbird eggs
From: Michael Todd <>
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 18:22:15 +1100
Hello all,

I've had a few responses about the Gibberbird nest that I found. I now think that it was probably natural variation within the clutch. Its amazing the difference that can occur within one clutch of eggs.

Its probably worth bearing in mind when using the field guides that the eggs of many species aren't always going to be identical (or even terribly similar!) to those represented in illustrations and plates.

Cheers and thanks,

Mick


At 08:31 PM 12/12/2004, Chris Brandis wrote:
Hi Mike
Gordon Beruldsen just describes them as faint pinkish white to pale pink or buffy pink sparingly sploched mostly over the larger end. My experience is that some times birds run out of the sploch dye and eggs get paler the more they lay. This mostly from raptors when I was a kid and we would collect the second and third clutch for other collectors and they got paler the more they laid.
Cheers  Chris

Michael Todd wrote:

Hello all,

I'm sorting through my photographs from the last 12 months and have been baffled by some photos that I took of a gibberbird nest that had 2 eggs back on the 5th August at Davenport Downs in south-west Qld.

The strange thing is that the 2 eggs in the nest were quite different in colour and pattern to such an extent that I at first assumed that there was a cuckoo egg in the nest. After closer re-evaluation I now think that there wasn't a cuckoo egg in the nest. One egg was noticeably pinker in colour, with denser markings than the other.

Normally I'd look up venerated egg references like North or Campbell with a problem like this but the Gibberbird wasn't described until AFTER these volumes were published (early 1900's).

Now, this egg variation within a clutch may be normal for Gibberbirds, I'm no expert on them. I'd love to hear from anyone who knows about Gibberbird eggs or for that matter whether it is normal to have a lot of variation within a clutch of eggs.

Cheers

Mick



Mick Todd
Toronto, NSW, Australia


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Mick Todd
Toronto, NSW, Australia


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