I saw a new bird near Mt St Joseph pond in Altona, Vic, yesterday, and I can't
work out what it was.
It was about 20cm long. Eyes, bill and legs were black. Its body was
basically grey above, and white below, although I decided after a while that
maybe it wasn't grey, but kind of brown. Cap and nape were darker than its
back. No memory or record of bill size or shape (good one!), but nothing
extreme like a finch or spinebill.
Primaries were black, secondaries were black but edged white. I think that's
right, but I have trouble telling primaries from secondaries and coverts when
the wing is folded. Primaries were occasionally held below tail level
Tail was black, edged white with white corners, and brown down the centre. I
think it was probably square, as I didn't record anything about shape (or
length). Don't think I got a look under it. There was no tail wagging.
It was sitting low to the ground on one dead thistle for a while, before moving
on to the next. The ground it was covering was mostly grass, thistles and low
shrubs. Not much higher than 0.5m.
I thought I had plenty of detail recorded, but of course there's nothing in the
books like it. The closest I can see are:
- Non-breeding male White-winged Triller. Right size, but they don't have
white-edged tail, and I don't recall a brow. Also, there was a male triller
close by in breeding plumage, and possibly a female. Neither looked like this,
and they were mostly around the tree tops.
- Jacky Winter. Too small, no white tail corners, as above for the brow.
Any suggestions, anyone?
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