Mark Stanley asked about the distribution limits of "Western" Fieldwren.
I have seen "Western" at Kalbarri, and Rufous further north. I was
slightly surprised that the fieldwren he saw at Mullewa was "Rufous". I
thought it might still be "Western". Certainly all the birds up the Great
Northern Highway are "Rufous". Further south, the birds in the Stirling
Range and Fitzgerald River NP are "Western". The birds on the Nullarbor
Plain are "Rufous". Mark is correct in that if you find the right habitat,
then it can be almost the most common bird there. His description of
habitat for "Western" is good. The "Rufous" seems to be more in tall
samphire and on the Nullarbor in blue/salt bush. But I have seen "Rufous"
in the low dune at Mangrove Bay near Exmouth.
Ron Johnstone at the WA Museum has a collection of fieldwren specimens. He
says that the amount of rufous is clinal. i.e. Tell him how much rufous
you want and he can show you a specimen. So he doesn't agree that
"Western" is a full species. There is no discernible difference that I can
hear in the call, and they both respond very well to the BOCA
tape. Pishing is usually enough to bring them up to the top of a bush.
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
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