My apologies for the bad photos but I think I've forgotten how to take photos. I was out the front of my place this afternoon here in Tenterfield, NSW and looked across the road to see this bird land on top of the pine tree across the road. With the naked eye the bird was a female brown house sparrow colour with white patches. After a photo or two I realised it had bright yellow eyes with black pupils. It did not have any unusual markings except when I saw it fly and hover it looked like (in flight) a 3/4 sized Pied Currawong, white circles under it's wings and all. In the photos it's beak, along with it's body shape, is almost identical to that of a Pied Currawong. It's eye colour just told me it wasn't a Currawong but to look at it it does kind of looks like a Currawong. It flew differently to a Pied Currawong as well. It flew faster than a Currawong.
In another photo which I haven't added here, the underside of the bird from the vent to the edge of it's tail is white. That area is also thick like a Pied Currawong's vent area.
The bird does have a light gray to black beak but it did not behave like a Pied Currawong at all. I did not see it's back fully nor it's front. It made no sound whatsoever in the few minutes I saw it.
Any help identifying this bird is greatly appreciated. I've seen and photographed fledgling Pied Currawongs and I know this bird is not a Pied Currawong. I'm not ruling out a different species of Currawong though, or something else.
It looks like a normal Pied Currawong. It is not a grey currawong
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
+1 for Pied Currawong...are you perfectly sure it isn't one?
Thanks for your responses HellyBirdy and Haliaeetus-23. The thing that confuses me the most about this bird is the fact it is brown and it has smaller pupils than a Pied Currawong and is smaller than a Pied Currawong. This is not a resident bird nor is it a baby/juvenile Pied Currawong from any of the local Tenterfield Pied Currawongs, that much is certain. Their babies are born light grey to a dark gray colour not brown and there is less noticeable white feather on the wing.
But let's say it is a juvenile Pied Currawong for arguement's sake as it does look like one. Why is it brown and why is it's pupils really small? And why is it exposed to potential predators with no nearby parents?
I have not seen this bird with other local Pied Currawongs or even amongst the entire flock.
So the question is: Are young Pied Currawongs from other areas in NSW/QLD/even ACT born with brown feathers and darken with age?
I'm at Tenterfield, NSW. (Formerly known as "Hyperbirds".)
Hi Shirley: Just saw a blog with a photo of a bird similar to yours. They ID it as a Fledgling Pied Currawong. Here's the site: http://peonyden.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/squark-of-baby-currawongs.html Hope this helps.
Perhaps you are being tricked by the light. It IS an adult Pied Currawong.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
I was thinking exatly what Shorty was thinking about the light. Also agree with him about it being a Pied Currawong.
Thanks everyone for your comments. It wasn't a trick of the light I don't think. It looked brown with the naked eye and it's left eye was yellow.. All I saw was brown with yellow eyes and no pupils. That's why I took photos of the birds. I'm just going to go with it being a fledgling Pied Currawong as I have never seen any of them. I've seen babies not long out of the nest and adults, nothing inbetween, until now.
I'm at Tenterfield, NSW. (Formerly known as "Hyperbirds".)
It isn't a fledgling. It does have pupils, which are just contracted from looking into the afternoon sun. Colouring is somewhat variable and its perception is definately prone to being affected by light
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Hellobirdy, if it isn't a fledgling then "What is a fledgling?" Yes, the colour is variable. It was 3/4 the size of an adult Pied Currawong.
Actually, going by the shadows this photo was taken before lunch, at a guess of around 11AM. The bird was definitely brown though. No matter what age the bird is it probably still is a Pied Currawong as that's all we get here.
I'm at Tenterfield, NSW. (Formerly known as "Hyperbirds".)
Hi Shirley, Definitions provide courtesy of a google search, hope that is helpful. We all use terms relating to birds which some may not understand the meaning of.
Fledgling - a young bird that has just fledged.
Definition of fledge
fledged
fledging
of a young bird
intransitive verb
: to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity; also : to leave the nest after acquiring such feathers
transitive verb
1: to rear until ready for flight or independent activity
2: to cover with or as if with feathers or down
3: to furnish (as an arrow) with feathers
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks for the vocabulary lesson, Dale. And it ain't my first lesson for the year. It is no wonder people get confused with the English language - there is just too many words. So, a fledgling is a bird that is still very young but has grown feathers enabling it to fly, and may or may not have downy feathers still, depending upon it's age. That would be compared to a todler in human terms - can't walk before fully developing kneecaps so he/she can walk. Stupid English words!
I'm at Tenterfield, NSW. (Formerly known as "Hyperbirds".)
The day we stop learning is the day we should hang our hats up and move on I reckon Shirley. Anyone who says they know it all is only cheating themselves of more information. Truly do hope it was helpful.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania