Taken this morning at Samsonvale SE Queensland. I'm leaning towards Leaden Flycatcher because of the white just under the chin before it turns to orange/brown. I don't think Satin have that.
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Looks like Leaden Flycatcher, not a Satin.
M.M.
This is a common ID conundrum. Almost as common as the Brown Goshawk/Collared Sparrowhawk debate! I'd say Leaden in this case.
This site has the best explaination that I have found with some photographic comparisons. :)
http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=181
Dave, Sydney.
Thanks for the replies Bird lover and Dave.Thanks also for the link, I'll go with Leaden and this takes my photographed bird count to 221. Can't believe how wide the bill is.
Samford Valley Qld.
Is there any chance this is a Broad-billed Flycatcher? Samsonvale would seem to be just outside the extreme limit of its range although climate change may well be producing some interesting sightings in interesting places.
Well spotted Woko! That did occur to me when I saw the size of the bill. However Cairns is listed as its southern limit which is over 1700 kilometres away so I decided that was unlikely but not impossible. The white under the chin before it changes to orange/brown is not something a Broad-Billed Flycatcher has.
Samford Valley Qld.
Thanks so much Dave, now I sould be able to ID all the male ones that I see at least :D
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Morcombe's map indicates the Broad-billed Flycatcher's range has its southern limit near Brisbane.
Are there any other Flycatchers with broad bills like the one in your photo, Reflex?
No problem Ryu!
The females are tough - i think the bluish sheen on the top of the head rather than a more dull blue is the main diagnostic feature for females.
Picture 1 shows the Leaden. This is from the G Chapman site http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=181&pg=4
Picture 2 shows the Satin - with the blue sheen. This is from the G Chapman site http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=184&pg=2
In reality, when the bird is flitting around in the trees, it's very hard to tell!
Dave, Sydney.
In the Pizzy and Knight field guide, the Southern limit of Broad Bills is also Cairns, so from that point of view it seems a loooong way out of range.
But I'm not sure if the presence of white under the chin is significant enough to rule-out a Broad Billed (immatures have them according to Pizzy and Knight), and yes, that bill does look broad....
On balance I'd probably still stick with Leaden, and I went back through my photos and generally speaking the bills were broader then I remembered.
Dave, Sydney.
not sure which Morecombe's map that you are looking at Woko
I have the app and suggest that that tertiary or faintest area comes as far south as Rockhampton (about 635 km north of Brisbane)
I also have the Field Guide compact edition and it is the same map
I once tried to talk myself into recording a female Leaden Flycatcher seen in Bundaberg as a Broad-billed Flycatcher but looked agian at the maps
Peter
i've heard these plumage characteristics of female leaden/satin are unreliable
best to go off range/habitat
perhaps they can't be identified with a complete degree of confidence without a specimen in hand (female satin is about 1cm bigger)
Hey, Peter. Having only been to Queensland on three occasions it's clear that my recollection of what is where isn't where it ought to be. Brisbane seems to have shifted a few hundred kilometres further south than I recall so that the southern limit of the Broad-billed Flycatcher's range as depicted in my 2000 edition of Morcombe is further north than where it was when I first thought it was where it was. If you get my drift.
The downshot of all this is that if what I thought was a Broad-billed Flycatcher isn't one at all then does this mean other Flycatchers also have broad bills?
Bill-width in Leaden and Broad-billed Flycatchers is roughly the same - it's the shape of the bill that matters.
graeme chapman
There you go. Thanks for that, mail.
eh what - just kidding
most people don't understand Qld or the Qld distances
it is further by road from Brisbane to Cairns (1703 km) than it is from Brisbane to Melbourne (1678 km)
and remember Brisbane is about 150 km from the NSW border and Cairns is about 932 km from Cape York
Peter
That puts everything into perspective. Thanks, Peter.