I am confused! I think I saw a figbird this morning behind Deakin - corner of Old Quarry Track and Deakin Fire Trail (more or less straight up from the pedestrian lights on Kent St.
Certainly there were orioles in the area but I got a pretty good look at this bird and it looked different. Striations were softer indicating a juvenile (I thought) but it was quite definitely green-coloured and with a fairly definite dark strip on the bottom edge of the wings (while sitting) but narrower than the oriole. Unfortunately didn't have my camera or my birdbook and didn't take enough notice of the eye area - definitely no trace of pink/red in the bill though, nor was it making oriole noises.
Marion
2009/12/8 martin butterfield <>
Geoffrey
Excellent comments and very helpful - especially those referring to jizz in flight.
>From my view, knowing what I was looking for and with Mark Allen to provide valued assistance, the key thought was "that is a very dark looking oriole". Then the binoculars came into play with, as you say eye patch and bill shape being definitive. WRT to bill shape, Allen pere had commented about 2 minutes earlier to the effect that the birds bill was more like that of a bowerbird, which I found helpful. He also said that the call prompted him to investigate further - and the bird had been silent for the first several days.
I trust the commentary in this forum, and your photographs, are of assistance to the Rarities panel.
Martin
On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 5:40 PM, Geoffrey Dabb <> wrote:
I expected Richard to describe his find for you, but as a poor substitute I submit the following in the meantime.
Richard’s GBS site is remarkable both for the number of years of operation and the number of species recorded. It is mainly open grassland, sometimes mown, with some plantings of exotic trees. Nonetheless it seems to be both a well-used corridor and a nesting patch for quite a few species. Richard had noted the nesting orioles and had at first taken the AFB to be a young oriole, which it certainly resembles. (Whether you should add ‘superficially’ is a matter of opinion.) However, not many observers would have taken the second – or third or fourth – look needed to identify it as a first for this area. The eye-patch and shape of bill are useful clues, but easily overlooked. The flight is also a guide. Compared to the oriole, they seem to work harder at their flying, tail spread, to cover short commuting distances. If expecting it, you might know from a glance what it was - if you were in Port Moresby or Brisbane or even, these days, Merimbula.
Below for comparison, this figbird and a sub-adult oriole:
![figbird oriole.jpg]()
From: martin butterfield [
Sent: Monday, 7 December 2009 3:09 PM
To: David McDonald
Cc:
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Figbird
Perhaps now replace 'are" with "were".
Mark's services were excellent: his ear is as good as his eye!
Martin
On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 11:26 AM, David McDonald <> wrote:
There are no inland records for this species (now called the Australasian Figbird) south of the Hunter Valley in Birdata www.birdata.com.au - regards - David
Ian Fraser wrote:
It's worth noting that, as far as I can tell, this is a first ever record for the ACT. It was still there an hour ago, preening in the big poplar outside #15 and cheeping meditatively to itself. If you can engage the services of Richard's son Mark, do so - he has an excellent eye!
cheers
Ian
Geoffrey Dabb wrote:
Richard Allen has just told me he has a juvenile figbird in trees at the back of his house, 15 Peacock Place Curtin. g
-- Ian Fraser, Environment Tours; Vertego Environmental Consultancy
GPO Box 3268, Canberra, ACT 2601 ph: 61 2 6249 1560 ---
-- David McDonald Canberra Ornithologists Group email lists manager
T: 02 6238 3706 M: 0416 231 890 E:
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