Hello all,
Whilst on West Island Cocos-keeling Islands last fortnight I
located and photographed an unusual yellow wagtail on the edge of the grass at
the northern end of the runway.
I was able to obtain a couple of average photos that are only suitable for ID.
Possessing a dark head, it was immediately obvious that this bird had a short
white supercilium behind the eye. As it moved between clumps of grass and
eventually turned to face us, it's spotted neckless become visible. Whilst it
stood in that position I took three quick photos and despite several attempts
during the following five days, these were the only photos I managed to obtain.
Although there are several integration zones between yellow wagtail ssp and
many ssp are considered inseparable in some plumage states, the combination of
dark head, short white supercilium not extending in front of the eye and the
spotted necklace across the breast are diagnostic of adult male thunbergi in
fresh spring plumage and therefore Australia's first WESTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL.
If you would like a look at the photos, let me know. I've emailed them to
Simon Mustoe, hopefully he'll be able to put them on bird-o over the next few
days.
Cheers
Richard Baxter
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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