Almost certainly a female at this time of year when plumages are strongly differentiated. A juv would be duller, show a cream gape etc, also very short-tailed according to HANZAB. Expert? Far from it. I gave a talk to COG on cisticolas some years ago back in the days of slide slides. I showed breeding males with short tails, incongruously so early in the season. Someone asked if any other species had short tails in the breeding season and I didn’t know. I found later that fairy-wrens also moult into slightly shorter tails in the breeding season. Something everyone should know.
There is something I would like to investigate further about these birds. You will know that characteristic ‘tzeeeet … plonk’ call given by the male. I have some old video somewhere that shows a momentary bulge of the throat when it comes to the abrupt ‘plonk’. I have recently heard the tzeeet from one direction and the plonk from another. Could this be male/female (or, more likely, female/male) duetting (like the whipbird) or a rival male? I have discarded a ventriloquial effect. You now have the advantage of the curiously named ‘boardwalk’ (distinguished by an absence of boards in its construction - now THAT’S something you need a word for). You can stand on this and (if you stand on it often enough) hear a tzeet a few metres away on one side and a plonk on the other. It is difficult in the dense reeds to have 2 birds, or even one bird, in view at the one time
From: John Harris [
Sent: Saturday, 3 January 2015 2:39 PM
To: Julie Clark; COG Chatline
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Golden-headed Cisticola
Yes Julie, Golden Headed Cisticolas and the 4th photo (1704) is a male in or nearly in breeding plumage.
As for the other three, someone more expert than me may be able to tell the female from the non-breeding male but it is very difficult. John
Yesterday I photographed what I think is a Golden-headed Cisticola at Gungahlin. To my inexperienced eye I thought it was a juvenile by its behaviour. (3 photos)
I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm my thoughts or let me know if it's a non-breeding male or female. I'm not sure how to distinguish.
The last photo I took today at Forde maybe a male? I hope I'm on the right track.
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