Re: Regent Honeyeater at Newstead, Vic.

To clarify a point re. the possible mimicry of Little Wattlebird by the Regent Honeyeater at Newstead, Vic.

Regent Honeyeaters in Victoria have a different dialect (Philip - if this is technically not the correct usage of the word, you know what I mean) to those in NSW.  As one who is exposed to NSW Regent Honeyeaters regularly and consistently I recognise the difference in calls whenever working with Victorian birds.  I appreciate that others might not pick up the difference.  The Victorian birds have a call that is not unlike the Little Wattlebird.  It could well be that Chris, who is quite accustomed to Little Wattlebird calls, heard this particular call and attributed it to mimicry of this species. 

Interestingly, Regent Honeyeaters have recently been determined to be most closely related to wattlebirds.  This is something that I had thought would be the case for some time as the begging calls of juvenile Regent Honeyeaters are very difficult to distinguish from begging calls of wattlebirds.

Cheers

David

David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 2111
Dubbo  NSW  2830
Ph: 02 6883 5335 or Freecall 1800 621 056
Fax: 02 6884 9382



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