The bird in my photo is a juvenile Grey-tailed Tattler. See
http://www.photos-n-guides.com/html/tattler_25_october_2012.html
The location is Caloundra Head (aka Wickham Point) in Caloundra on the Sunshine
Coast in SE Queensland. Previously a well known and very reliable (and easy)
Wandering Tattler location.
Before I go any further I feel I must report that there is now a genuine
juvenile Wandering Tattler at that location and it was seen in company with the
juv Grey-tailed this morning (Saturday 27th Oct). I was not the observer but I
have seen the excellent photos. The observer/photographer par excellence is a
shy and unassuming person and does not want to be publically acknowledge. So
don’t ask me.
I first photographed Wandering Tattlers at Caloundra Head in 2003, the year I
bought my first digital SLR. From 2005 I have photographed that species there
every year up until the present.
The spot were I photographed the tattler in question is the exact same spot, to
the millimetre, where I photographed a juv Wandering Tattler in the last week
of Oct 2008 and another juv Wandering Tattler in the first week of Nov 2010. In
early Nov 2011 I photographed a juv Wandering Tattler about 50 metres from that
spot and I have regularly photographed Wandering Tattlers of various ages in
the general vicinity of that spot.
On 2nd Sept 2011 I photographed an adult Grey-tailed Tattler, still in breeding
plumage, at Caloundra Head in the company of an overwintering (2nd year?)
Wandering Tattler. That had been the only time I had seen a Grey-tailed Tattler
at that location. It apparently only stayed a day or two.
Last Thursday, 25th Oct, when I found a tattler at that particular spot (to the
millimetre) I immediately recognised it as a juvenile and simply assumed it was
another Wandering Tattler. I then spent an hour or so trying to get good shots
of a very active bird. I generally do my forensic identification at home on the
PC so I didn’t bother too much with the identification in the field. “Tattler”
was good enough. If I had realised it was a juv Grey-tailed Tattler I might
have spent even more time with the bird considering the novelty of having that
species at that location.
When I put the images up on the PC screen I immediately had my doubts about the
Wandering Tattler identification but the bird seemed to have identification
features indicating both species. In the end I consulted the experts and
settled, quite confidently and happily, on an identification of Grey-tailed
Tattler.
I want to thank those people who offered their identification and their reasons
and I will go into the details of the identification – in no particular order.
The habitat: The habitat at Caloundra Head is the classical type described in
most references on Wandering Tattlers: coastal, wave-washed rocks and rock
platforms. There is no sand but there is some ‘shingle’ amongst the rocks.
Unfortunately, Grey-tailed Tattlers sometimes utilise that type of habitat so
'”habitat” is not a reliable identification point for these species.
Behaviour: This bird was doing exactly what I often see Wandering Tattlers do
but it seems that there is not a lot of difference in the behaviours of the two
species.
Nasal groove: This can be hard to assess even in good photos. In this case I
estimate the nasal groove comes to around half way along the bill. Grey-tailed
Tattlers have, on average, grooves shorter than that and Wandering Tattlers
have, on average, grooves longer than that. So, in this case the nasal groove
is not a decider for me.
Supercilium: Some people see no extension of the supercilium behind the eye on
the bird in question but I see a faint extension.
Bill colour: In my experience (from my photos), there is not a lot of
difference in the bill colours of the two Species. The amount of pale colour on
the lower mandible varies in both species.
The important and deciding features:
The colour of the flanks below the folded wing: It seems that, in all plumages,
the flanks of Wandering Tattler are always dark for a fair way down the flank
below the folded wing.
For an example of this see the juv Wandering Tattler at
http://www.photos-n-guides.com/html/juvenile_wandering_tattler_9.html
The flanks of Grey-tailed Tattlers are always white below the folded wing as on
the bird in question at
http://www.photos-n-guides.com/html/tattler_25_october_2012.html
The spotting and edge-fringing of the upper body feathers: Grey-tailed Tattler
has very obvious spotting and edge-fringing while the spotting and
edge-fringing on Wandering Tattler is much fainter and can be hard to see.
Compare the birds in the images at the links immediately above.
These two “important” features confirm an identification of “Grey-tailed
Tattler”.
Bird watchers (and a certain bird-photographer) will now need to be even more
careful when they visit that spot looking for Wandering Tattlers. That distant
view might not be enough for a correct identification.
And I may have to update the Wandering Tattler ID guide on my website.
Bob Inglis
Sandstone Point
Qld
Australia
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