Sorry to 'shoot-you down' but the bird in question is definitely a Collared,
note the 'british racing-green and turquoise-blue plumage with no buff on
the underparts and a much heftier-bill (for dealing with mudflat crabs).
I've just spent a couple of weeks in Cape York and Cairns area and made a
point of observing the plumages of this species and can assure you this is
the same as the Collared that I saw there.
Tom
On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 4:42 PM, Ian Cowan <> wrote:
> I know I will be shot down, but I am going for Sacred. Although it is
> hard to judge the size of the bird, from the appearance of the mud and
> sticks around it I would put it as a small bird, smaller than the Collared.
> It is also thin (scrawny) whereas the collared is a distinctly larger,
> plumper bird (not always obvious in the field guides). The Collared around
> Cairns tends to inhabit the taller mangrove forest, not the mudflats. The
> form of the Sacred that feeds on the mudflats and sandflats is quite dark on
> its back, in some light conditions it can even appear to be black at first
> glance, and often does not display the buff colouring of the "suburban"
> Sacred
>
> Ian Cowan
> Clifton Beach
>
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