Frank O'Connor has pointed out to me that the Lake Clarendon Banded Stilt is
more properly described as 'adult' rather than as in 'breeding plumage'.
I had wondered about this, but my totally book-based experience of Banded
Stilts led me to think that the band was solely a breeding plumage
characteristic.
Anyway, Frank goes on to point out that Banded Stilts without bands have
been found breeding, and that they don't lose the band once attained.
So, many thanks to Frank for the clarification, which really comes as
something of a relief (to me, if not the stilt) because I had been worrying
that this poor bird might have been having its hormonal expectations raised
to undue and unrealistic heights, given that it's unlikely to find another
of its ilk within a few hundred kilometres.
The point is then, that this bird is almost certainly the juvenile Banded
Stilt which was first recorded at Lake Clarendon in April, and which has
just matured into adult plumage.
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
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