Michael,
When I was in the NT last year, I saw a pair of Star Finch on the two days I
stayed at the Victoria River Caravan Park. They were a pair in excellent
condition and were feeding late afternoon and early morning on the 22 and 23
June 1999 at the southern edge of the park.
I hope this is of some interest to you research.
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Todd <>
To: <>;
<>
Date: Tuesday, 7 November 2000 16:17
Subject: Oriental Pratincole and other recent sightings
>Hello Quentin,
>
>I'm very interested in your Star Finch sighting. Would you have the exact
>details? What age were the birds you saw? Do you have a GPS location for
the
>site? I've just completed a paper on the distribution of the Star Finch.
The
>status of the Star Finch in the northern third of the NT is very unclear.
It
>doesn't seem as though they were ever seen regularly in the northern third
>of the NT. For example, John McKean only saw them once, and that was right
>near Darwin, possibly escapes. Populations are known from the Victoria
River
>and west and then a population in the Macarthur River. Outside these areas
>sightings are very scattered and rare. I would urge people to take very
>careful note of any Star Finch sightings elsewhere in the NT. Forget the
>field guides, the status of the Star in the northern third of the NT is far
>from clear. Until a regular location can be found for them in the area, I
>suspect that most sightings are vagrants, escapes or misidentifications.
>
>As for the Masked Owl- they can be pretty hard to ID in northern Australia
I
>think. I had believed that I was seeing Masked Owls in Lakefield NP. I'm
>still not 100% sure whether I saw Maskeds in Lakefield after seeing a lot
of
>Tytos and photographing quite a few. The problem is that the Maskeds on
Cape
>York are markedly smaller than Maskeds elsewhere including the NT. A
>specimen that is in the Australian Museum from the Alligator River, NT,
>collected by Cayley in the 1930's is quite big, certainly clearly bigger
>than a Barn Owl and with well feathered legs. If this bird is typical I
>suspect that the Masked Owls from NT to WA would like quite different to
the
>Masked Owls on Cape York, based on measurements provided in a paper by Ian
>Mason in the 1970's.Measurements in this paper make it closer to Barn Owl
in
>size than the Masked Owl, but specimens are few, and sightings even less.
>
>"Key features were: a
>conspicuous thick black edge to a roundish (not heart-shaped)
>facial disc. Very large eyes, that looked even larger due to dark
>feathering around them. Fairly heavy spotting on side of neck and
>underside".
>
>If some of the odd Tytos that I saw in Lakefield were Barns then I have
seen
>all these features in Barns up there. I have shown some of these photos to
>more experienced owl watchers than myself and they've been confused.
>Unfortunately there is very little known about this bird. I have heard owls
>in lakefield that sounded like Maskeds and I have seen and photographed
some
>very strange looking and behaving Tyto owls but without detailed knowledge
>of what Cape York Maskeds look like I ended up backing down from my initial
>identification. I remain undecided.
>
>I would suggest that most of the features you saw could be in a Barn Owl,
>and that Maskeds in the north, particularly on Cape York, could have bare
>legs. However, if the Tyto you saw definitely had feathered legs well then
>it would have to be a Masked, as I doesn't seem as though Barns can vary in
>this feature.
>
>Anyway, well done! I would urge you to try and find the owl again. Is there
>any chance of getting photos?
>
>Others might have more idea about Maskeds elsewherein the north. Niven have
>you come across Maskeds up in the north?
>
>Confused Owler?
>
>Mick Todd
>
>Michael Todd
>Tropical Savannas CRC
>c/o CSIRO
>PO Box 780, Atherton, Qld, 4883
>Phone- (07) 40918837
>Email-
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
> Behalf Of Quentin
>Paynter
>Sent: Monday, 6 November 2000 10:50 AM
>To:
>Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] Oriental Pratincole and other recent sightings
>
>
>I was just south of the Finniss River on Wagait Aboriginal Land
>(about 2 hrs drive south-west of Darwin, NT and about 40 mins west
>of Wangi Falls, Litchfield Park) last Friday and spotted a large flock
>of Oriental Pratincoles. A lifer for me, although goodness knows how
>many I've overlooked in the previous two years!
>
>I go to this area quite frequently because the landowners are
>conducting a very successful campaign against the invasive weed
>Mimosa pigra, which I am studying. The general area around the
>study site consists of wetlands infested with mimosa thickets,
>reclaimed wetlands, a big billabong (with crocs) and
>riverside/Melaleuca forest. It is becoming quite a haven for birds - I
>saw a pair of Star finches here a couple of weeks ago - apparently
>they don't get seen close to Darwin as often as they used to.
>
>Perhaps the most exciting recent find was a potential Masked owl
>(sighting being considered by the NT vetting committee). When I
>arrived at the camp I flushed a Tyto owl from a tree, which flew a
>short distance to a large fig tree. Knowing how hard they can be to
>identify I made copious notes. I didn't think it was a barn owl - I've
>seen plenty of them in the past. However, it was definately not a
>grass owl - legs did not extend beyond tail in flight, wasn't dark
>enough above, didn't have the 'long face & beady eye' look.
>HANZAB proved very helpful. According to HANZAB the northern
>race of Masked owl 'kimberli' is small and pale. Indeed it was similar
>to a barn owl - it didn't look all that massive compared to most
>pictures of masked owl in field guides. Key features were: a
>conspicuous thick black edge to a roundish (not heart-shaped)
>facial disc. Very large eyes, that looked even larger due to dark
>feathering around them. Fairly heavy spotting on side of neck and
>underside. Legs feathered all the way down and massive feet that
>looked like boxing gloves in flight!
>
>I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has experience with this
>race of Masked owl. Regarless of whether this record is accepted
>I'd encourage anyone to take a closer look at any barn owls in this
>part of the world!
>
>Quentin
>
>Dr Quentin Paynter
>CSIRO Entomology, Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre
>PMB 44 Winnellie NT 0822
>Australia
>
>PH (61)(0)8 8944 8420
>FAX (61)(0)8 8944 8444
>E-mail
>http://www.dar.dwe.csiro.au/
>
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