We'll probably never know. I should have said that in earlier expeditions
Mitchell had followed the Bogan River down to the Darling and followed that
down for several hundred kms, then in another expedition followed the
Lachlan to the Murumbidgee and the Murray and then travelled through western
Vic to the sea and back across northern Vic to the Murray and north again
the Murumbidgee. He had also been Chief Surveyor of the Colony for many
years and travelled widely in coastal NSW. This passage reads as though he
had never seen these birds before.
I think the best explanation so far is Little Friarbird. I don't think Satin
Flycatchers could have been in the habitat he is describing, extensive
grassy plains with a few groves of trees near rivers. Looking through the
field guide again I have one further suggestion: an adult and juvenile
Blue-faced Honeyeater.
John Leonard
On 10/29/07, <>
wrote:
>
>
> How about White-winged Triller?
>
>
>
>
> *"michael hunter" <>*
> Sent by:
>
> 29/10/2007 01:22 PM
> To
> "Chris Coleborn" <>, "Birding Australia" <
> > cc
>
> Subject
> Re: [Birding-Aus] bird from Mitchell's 1844 Expedition
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi All,
> Although I've seen a very dishevelled male Satin Flycatcher
> (or perhaps it was a Leaden), at Innaminka after stormy east coast
> weather,
> it was way out of range, and to see a pair in central South-Queensland,
> which came in to calling, seems very unlikely.
> If Mitchell was familiar with Australian birds, he
> probably
> should have been familiar with Friarbirds as a genus. Although the
> southern
> part of the Balonne river would be at the edge of their range, his
> description of the birds, their size and behavior are more like Little
> Friarbirds as Kurtis suggests.
> Cheers
> Michael
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