canberrabirds

Diversions for birdwatchers (2)

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Subject: Diversions for birdwatchers (2)
From: "Geoffrey Dabb" <>
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:16:28 +1000

Observing alulae.

 

A usful starting point is a simple diagram.  This is from a book on African birds, and is of a hornbill, a bird which if it appeared in the ACT of its own accord would probably be a vagrant.

 

 

al_3248.jpg

 

A splendid place for alula-watching is the kiosk at ANBG, where a Red Wattlebird is likely to appear between your face and the friand on your plate.  (Coincidentally, ‘friand’, a useful word which I would expect in one of Suzanne Edgar’s poems, appears in the Macquarie Dictionary only 2 places from ‘friarbird’.)  In relative perspective, the RWB alula is likely to be larger than your friand.

 

 al1 xJ_4577.jpg 

 

Being generally at little more than friand-distance, the LWB is not much of a challenge for the experienced alula-watcher, but its general plumage contains, to me anyway, several points of interest:

 

ala_comp.jpg

 

 

 (I confess to taking a couple of stills yesterday.  With acknowledgments to Richard Allen, who has been an AO for many years.)

 

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