Or maybe which male raised it......... If there is a comment on that, it is
that more typically if there is song learning involved, it is learned from
fathers rather than mothers. Although that is based on general results of
better known other groups of birds, rather than honeyeaters. Beyond that I
suspect that the two parent species are so similar, it may be hard for us
people to distinguish which its behaviour is closest to. Apart from that the
WCH is so rare here that it has probably never met another one, other than its
assumed lost one parent.
Philip
-----Original Message-----
From: John Harris
Sent: Tuesday, 24 July, 2018 9:05 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] White-cheeked x New Holland HE hybrid Narrabundah
I wonder what it identifies as? Does its behaviour suggest it relates to WCH or
NHH? Would that depend on which female raised it?
On 24/7/18, 8:51 am, "Geoffrey Dabb" <> wrote:
What an interesting record Ryu. It could be the bird from JWNR. I have
only seen that bird when there was flowering, either euc or shrub (usually
grevillea, sometimes callistemon). Locally the NHH is usually found near
Grevillea. I was looking yesterday at JWNR and there is little flowering and
only the odd NHH. It is quite possible the bird has wandered, as it probably
has before, in search of food. However over the last 2 seasons breeding
activity has been at the same location at JWNR.
It is possible it is a different bird of related origin. It is not known
whether occasional reports of a WCH at ABNG are attributable to the Jerra bird.
I'll take a look at the weekend when the industrious students of
Narrabundah College are pursuing their studies at home. Of course it could
turn up anywhere there is suitable flowering.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ryu Callaway <>
Sent: Monday, 23 July 2018 7:02 PM
To: COGChat <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] White-cheeked x New Holland HE hybrid Narrabundah
I have just observed what is almost certainly the well-known hybrid from
Jerrabomberra Wetlands feeding in a grevillea at Narrabundah College around
4:25pm. Perhaps it has finally decided to move on.
I'd gone to investigate an insistent unfamiliar single-note piping call
when I located the bird in a grevillea, and it subsequently did some scolding
calls for a while before quieting down. It was there for about 8 minutes (very
vocal for the first 3 and possibly before I came outside), moving around and
feeding quite a bit but very wary of my presence before I lost it and I was
pretty sure it had gone at the end. After it disappeared I tried playing the
white-cheeked call but it did not reply or return. The bird had the dark eye
and the cheek patch smaller than a white-cheeked but larger and extending
further forwards than a new Holland, with the distinctive white upwards flick
below the eye like the wetland's bird. It's 2.5kms as the bird flies from its
usual haunt - not sure if that would be within its usual daily movement range
but as far as I know the first recorded excursion for this bird which has been
recorded at Jerra fairly frequently for almost the past 3 years. I've never
seen a New Holland HE at Narrabundah College either.
I would certainly be very interested in further sightings either back at
the wetlands or elsewhere. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of this
bird, and it isn't on its way to a new home where it may never be found.
Ryu
*******************************************************************************************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra
Ornithologists Group.
Emails posted to the list that exceed 200 kB in size, including attachments,
will be rejected.
All emails distributed via the list are archived at
http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds. It is a
condition of list membership that you agree to your contributions being
archived.
When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word 'Subscribe' or
'Unsubscribe', as applicable, in the email's subject line.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
List manager: David McDonald, email <>
|
