I thought the matter of KP plumages needed further investigation, so today I collected some snaps at Yarralumla, in the vicinity of the English Garden. I must first correct my earlier reference to an ‘orbital ring’. I was referring to the conspicuous pale ring, which is in fact part of the ‘iris’. HANZAB’s treatment of these is unsatisfactory. The iris descriptions are:
Male – bright yellow to pale yellow
Female – rufous-brown
Juv – dark red-brown
Imm male – rufous
Imm female - light brown
I take all the below to be probable adult females. The iris is clearly ‘yellow’. The bill is dark greyish suffused with some pink or orange. (Have shots showing lower mandible paler, but this not material.) A shows the ‘few’ orange-red feathers on neck/throat. A and B show a few pale green feathers in the wing, generally a male character. These are said to be ‘none or fewer’ in the female. I shall deal in the next message with young males.
