Well it’s a wet day, so a look at the Stony Creek Painteds snapped yesterday in poor conditions. There are possibly 3 pairs with the odd unmated supernumerary causing a bit of 3-some frolicking. Some females can be blackish but are generally distinguished (2 and 5) from male (1) by charcoal rather than jet backs. Dark flecks on flanks are not related to gender. The pair at 3 was gathering wind-blown spider web from the topmost dead limbs. (2) appears to be carrying nest material. The birds develop a messy vent area(4) from excreting sticky berries with adhesive threads and can sometimes be seen cleaning that area (5).
