Can anyone advise?
I have spent some weeks photographing a group of Blue-faced Honeyeaters.
There is considerable disparity in the ages of the birds. The youngest bird has
almost yellow skin around the eye. A couple of larger, more aggressive birds
have green skin and others have blue skin, which is not as extensive as in a
mature adult. Can anyone tell me how long it takes a chick to fully mature. At
what stage would one classify the birds as subadults? Is there any difference in
the way or rate of maturation between male & female? When a bird joins a
group, the birds adopt a crouching pose with bills open. Is this a greeting or a
sign of agression?
Ray Viljoen
