Bob,
Whilst you have been focusing on the size of the bills, I have for some
years been interested in the considerable difference in body size between
individuals of Bar-tailed Godwits (BAGO). I have always meant to ask around
others for their opinions. I have asked myself if two different races or
sub-species are mixing in our area of SEQld, or whether it is just a
variation between individuals of a single species. I think the recent
discovery of green-flagged BAGO in Alaska could provide a clue or an answer.
Green flags - indicating Qld - have been found in two flyways, but I am
unfamiliar with the biometrics of the populations on the breeding grounds.
I am bccing this to members of the Qld Wader Study Group, who have
experience in handling the birds, and maybe an answer will come from one of
them.
Cheers,
Jill
--
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Qld
26º 51' 152º 56'
Ph (07) 5494 0994
> From: "Robert Inglis" <>
> Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 06:17:49 -0800
> To: <>
> Subject: [BIRDING-AUS] RFI: Bar-tailed Godwits, breeding plumage and bill
> lengths
>
> Hello all,
>
> The wader-watching at Woody Point SE, Queensland, (down the street from my
> place) has been a bit slow this year but I have noticed a couple of Bar-tailed
> Godwits already in advanced stages of breeding colour.
> The amount of colour on these birds suggests that one is a male and another is
> a
> female.
> Could it be that these birds have retained their colour from 'last season' or
> are they just being precocious?
>
> Also I have noticed a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits with extraordinarily long
> bills.
> Obviously these are females but I am wondering if they are from the
> sub-species
> baueri.
> According to my reading of the Bar-tailed Godwit section of The Handbook of
> Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) this species, especially
> those that breed in Alaska, have the longest bills.
>
> Is it possible to identifier the various sub-species (HANZAB says there are
> three in Australia) of Bar-tailed Godwit in the field.... other than in the
> hand?
>
> Cheers
> Bob Inglis
> Woody Point
> Queensland
> Australia
>
>
> Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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