Hi all, I just returned from a trip to Melbourne ( and many great thanks to all
who responded to my RFI ). On the last day I took a walk along Moonie Ponds
near the airport and saw a bird that has so far eluded my attempts to classify
it. It was among some dense reeds on a small pond and disappeared down into the
reeds rather than flying out and away in the way the Superb FWs in the reeds
did. It was small and very similar to a FW in form even down to the cocked
tail. On the other hand it had a striped back and a short tail. Given this I
would like to say Striated Fieldwren or perhaps Little Grassbird. Against this
I could see no striations on the breast. Although it never held itself in such
a way that I could view it's breast well I was actively searching for that very
feature and I think I should have noticed some. So this made me think of a very
plain coloured GH Cisticola but the cocked tail for me speaks against this. Not
being at all familiar with Melbourne (or SFWs & LGBs either) and what are
likely habitats for these species around Melbourne I can't make "balance of
probability" argument to sort these out or even rule out a juv Southern Emu
Wren, another species that I am entirely unfamiliar with. I won't be counting
any conclusion as a tick but I would love to feel I have some closure. It is
hard for me to see a bird quite well and yet still not be able to nail the ID.
Cheers Tony
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