Hi All,
120+ GCG are currently on Lake Barrine on the
beautiful Atherton Tableland.
Yesterday while checking out another possible
Golden Bowerbird site I got out of the car, sniff, that smells like a tree-roo
and there he was at about three metres and quite exposed. The camera was of
course at home.
On my return the animal was still there but now
hunched over with its nose on its toes as rain was falling. I moved under the
animal to confirm my guess as to its sex, the male are more smelly, when a mixed
flock of insect eaters surrounded me. Pale Yellow Robin, Little Shrike Thrush,
Grey Fantail, one of the dark scrub wrens which I did not identify as my
attention was taken by a Mountain Thornbill feeding at ground level. As it moved
higher and closer not only did it come inside the focus range of my
binoculars but that of my eyes. I pulled my head back fearing the bird was about
to attack my beard.
Saw two fresh and one older Cassowary scats on this
little walk as well.
Interrupted the third paragraph above to look at a
strange butterfly that is still outside my window feeding on Pentus flowers. The
under wing is that of a pale male Danaid Eggfly Hypolimnas
missippus but the upper side is the unusual thing. The
hind wings have the typical black edging with two rows of tiny white spots of
the female but from there to the body the coluor quickly changes from light tan
to cream which fades to a large whitish area in the hind wing inner half. Where
the tan and cream join there was a row of blue dots like on the Blue-banded
Eggfly H. alimena females but without the white centres. The off white
colour extended onto the rear half of the forewing following the shape of the
Danaid Eggfly. A hybrid? All three species of Hypolimnas occur in my
garden.
Regards,
Alan
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