canberrabirds

Identifying flycatchers

To: <>
Subject: Identifying flycatchers
From: "Geoffrey Dabb" <>
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:15:11 +1000

Chip   -  This is going to get complicated, and beyond the capacity of this chatline.  By ‘samples’ are you referring to audio-recordings you have made?   ( I suggest you reply to me directly.)   g

 

From: Chip [
Sent: Saturday, 13 October 2007 6:33 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Cc:
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Identifying flycatchers

 

Thanks much for this Geoffrey. It appears as if this is often going to be a difficult decision.

One question on terminology: When Chapman writes "Calls too are not diagnostic..." is he referring to the "zi/urrp" vocalization? The songs seem quite different on my samples.

Chip Scialfa

Geoffrey Dabb wrote:

Separating Satins and Leadens is a recurrent topic.  Anyone really interested is urged to consult a copy of ‘Wingspan’ for June 2003 where there is a comprehensive article by Graeme Chapman on the subject.  I am not able to reproduce this in its entirety but here are excerpts:

 

‘A male Satin is best regarded as a black bird (with a blue sheen just like a Satin Bowerbird), with white underparts.  One reason they are so often misidentified undoubtedly stems from illustrations in most of the field guides.  Both painting and printing a blackish bird with a bluish sheen is no easy task and the most useful book in this respect is the Slater Field Guide. ... [T]he sighting needs to be made under ideal conditions.   [This photo] shows how dark a Leaden Flycatcher can be under less than ideal conditions.   A useful field character ... is the shape of the demarcation line between throat and breast feathers.  In Satins the line tends to be down-curved, the white breast forming an obtuse angle with the edge of the wing, whereas in Leadens it curves upwards forming an acute angle with the edge of the wing ... [This] is not always obvious ... [illustrative photos provided]

 

‘Adult female Satin Flycatchers display a diagnostic bluish sheen on the crown which is not evident in female Leadens, nor in juveniles of either species.  The density and extent of the rufous colouring on the throat is variable and not a reliable character; adult female Satins do tend to be darker.  They are also a bit darker on the back than female Leadens, but this is not easy to assess in the field ...’

 

‘Calls too are not diagnostic. ... there is great variation in the calls of the Leaden Flycatcher, both within and between individuals as well as from place to place.  Similar variation occurs with individual Satins and it would need a very practised ear to separate the two species.’   

 

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