Hello Mark. Isn't it interesting that you can post a nice clear photo of a
relatively common bird and get such a difference of opinion about its
identity. I too thought it was a Tawny Grassbird, which are very common in
Brisbane (where I live), but I have now changed my mind. If you look at
this galley of TGB photos http://www.pbase.com/sjmurray/tawny_grassbird you
will see that in each case the bill is longer and more robust than your
bird; the tail is longer; and the dark stripe through the eye is absent. The
other thing is that I don't think I've ever seen a TGB on the ground like
that whereas LGB's readily poke about on the ground.
Cheers Steve Murray
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Mark and
Amanda Young
Sent: Saturday, 15 December 2012 7:20 PM
To: 'Birding Aus'
Subject: Brown SongLark now a Grassbird
G'day everyone,
Thanks to all those people who've replied about this bird. Most people have
said it's a Tawny Grassbird, but a few think it might be a Little Grassbird.
There are a still points about this bird that have me confused. The white
fringing on the tertials(?), the slight dark streaking to the crown, (as
evident in the second image) and the dark line running through the eye seem
to suggest Little Grassbird.
But the lack of streaking on the breast leads it towards a Tawny Grassbird.
Is it possible this might be a young bird, or a hybrid of the 2?
When I saw this bird it was at the bottom of a small gully feeding in
between some grasses. Not the sort of habitat I've seen Little Grassbirds in
when I've seen them (which is no more than 10 times all up).
What attracted me to it was it's call. I was looking in that area for
Pipit's which are usually around there, when I heard the bird. I remember it
having an attractive call with multiple notes. Sorry about the vagueness on
that point, but I don't remember anymore about it's call.
Here's a link to another image showing the crown and back. I don't have a
better photo of the breast that I could post.
Link: http://bit.ly/ZtuImt
Regards,
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark and Amanda Young
Sent: Friday, 14 December 2012 7:13 PM
To: 'Birding Aus'
Subject: RE: Brown Songlark
G'aday everyone,
I saw this small bird this morning at Long Reef Golf Course this morning. I
wasn't too sure what it was when I saw it in the field. I thought it might
have been some unusual grassbird, but that didn't seem quite right. The
underside and head reminded a bit of a Reed-warbler, but those upper
feathers didn't seem right either for it to be a Reed-warbler.
Now that I've gotten home and had a chance to look it up in Morcombe's, it
looks very similar to a female Brown Songlark. But I've only ever seen a
male Brown Songlark, and that was a few years ago, so I'm would love to get
the opinion of others as to what they think this bird might be.
Link: http://bit.ly/TRM4D1
Regards,
Mark
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