birding-aus

Strange Cuckoo-shrike

To: "Stephen Murray" <>, "'Birding-Aus'" <>
Subject: Strange Cuckoo-shrike
From: "Greg and Val Clancy" <>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:36:41 +1000
Hi Steve,

I have seen dark morph White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes with many variations on the black throat/head markings. I have seen ones like the one in your photo that has similar black areas to to Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike. Birds like this usually have some black blotching below the black bib, unlike the BFCS. This area is not visible in your photo. I don't know whether they hybridise or not but I suspect that it is just natural variation in the WBCS. If the bird was smaller than a BFCS then it is not a young BFCS. Did it call? The heavy black marking on the lores of the bird in your photo only reaches the eye like a 'normal' morph WBCS.

I would say a dark morph WBCS.

Regards
Greg
Dr Greg. P. Clancy
Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide
| PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460
| 02 6649 3153  | 0429 601 960
http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com

-----Original Message----- From: Stephen Murray
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 5:21 PM
To: 'Birding-Aus'
Subject: Strange Cuckoo-shrike

Hello all.



This morning I was at Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park near Caboolture
in Queensland. Both White-bellied and Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes are common
here, and they are normally fairly easy to distinguish. One bird, however,
had me puzzled. At first I thought it was a regulation BFCS, but on closer
inspection it was more the size of a WBCS, has light half eye-ring (a
feature of WBCS), and, even though it has a darker area the shape of that of
a BFCS, if you look closely you can see a slightly darker facial mask area.
The bill looks too small for BFCS. Now, I realise there are dark morphs of
WBCS (which I've never seen), but I have only ever seen photos of birds with
a totally dark head. So, I have three questions:



1.       Do dark morph WBCS have gradations, or are they either all or
nothing?

2.       Do BFCS hybridise with WBCS?

3.       Have I been duped by a juvenile?



A rather ordinary photo  is here: http://www.pbase.com/image/150836159



Cheers Steve Murray






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