John,
Was working my way through the past week's worth of emails and
couldn't see a reply to your question. The matter of flycatcher ID
has been raised in the past on Birding-Aus so you might find some
useful info on the archives.
Regarding the males, I think there is a difference in the shape of
the demarkation line between the dark throat/wings and white
underparts, i.e. in the Satin tends to be a more rounded, downcurved
line while the Leaden has sharper corners where the sides of the
'bib' meet the wings. The field guides don't show this adequately.
You might like to check out Graeme Chapman's article in the June 2003
issue of Wingspan.
As for the call, keep in mind that both species seem to have a lot of
variation in the actual notes sung. I've found that both species will
respond to playback of each others' call, though the Satin at least
responded more strongly to the call of its own species.
Cheers
Carol
At 11:15 AM +1000 1/10/05, wrote:
Does anyone have any really firm criteria for separating Satin from Leaden
Flycatchers, the darker colouring apart? The pair I saw at the Styx River
crossing on Friday certainly seemed darker (the male that is!) than
the Leadens
I have commonly seen in the coastal regions. But their flitting about from
bright sunlight to leafy shade, with the dramatic changes to their colouring
that this causes, left me with an element of doubt. The habitat was certainly
right for Satins, and the calls I felt were palpably more
'strident', as one of
the field-guides puts it. The insistent two-note call seemed particularly
vehement. Pizzey and Knight states that Leadens wag their tails up and down,
and Satins 'mostly' do the same but 'occasionally' wag them sideways. That
seems to me at best an uncertain criterion for distinction.
Does anyone have any helpful advice? I am certain the birds will still be
around next time I am there.
Thanks,
John Clifton-Everest
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