Really not anything else it could be David. As you say the shape is distinctive and the colours do match. Notably the colour of the tail is distinctive for
the species (other than blue males). Books do tend to illustrate and describe birds when they are neat looking. Satin Bowerbirds with their very dense plumage usually look very neat. This young one is looking especially untidy.
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Dr David Rosalky
Sent: Monday, 11 January, 2021 12:41 PM
To: COG bird list
Subject: [Canberrabirds] Bowerbird fledgling?
A friend living in Moruya Heads sent me this photo for ID.
My guess is that it is a newly fledged Satin Bowerbird. I have never seen one so young and none of my books, including HANZAB shows a chick as opposed to a juvenile bird.
You can see some olive green on the upper back and the head/bill shape is characteristic. The dots on the wing are somewhat more prominent than the juvenile.
Interestingly, the bird still displays a gape. So, it may be within 3 weeks of fledging. HANZAB has a detailed description of plumage but I found it difficult to correlate with what I see in the photo.
Can someone more familiar than I verify the ID for me please?
David R
