Hi everyone. This is my second request for an ID this week and I've only just joined! I hope people don't mind. They might be common as muck but I've just never seen them in our garden before. I've gone through my book to see what they are most likely to be and I thought maybe a cuckoo shrike (black-faced? ). I think there are two adults maybe and one juvenile. Thanks all. :)
Yes, I'm pretty sure it is a Black-Faced Cuckoo Shrike.
P.S. No one minds if it is your second request for an ID, infact it is fun and sometimes challenging to ID birds! ;)
M.M.
Yes its a BF Cuckoo Shrike. NIce visitor to your garden.
No need to worry about posting too many requests - people enjoy trying to id the birds from the photos.
Feel free to post ID requests, thats what this thread if for. Love the BFCS, have a listen to their call and soon you will start to hear them everywhere.
The bird on the left in the first photo and in the second and third photos is a juvenile. The juvi can sometimes be confused with the White-bellied Cuckoo Shrike because the black mask covers only the eyes and not the whole face like it does with the adult bird (Photo #4).
LM
Thanks for all your comments. I try to work it out myself first but it's great to get confirmation. Yes Snail, I noticed the youngster had a smaller mask, so I'm glad the adults were there too. I'll try and familiarise myself with their call, now that I know what they are.