Is this a thornbill?

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WhistlingDuck
Is this a thornbill?

Hi

Im after more help with a id please. 

I saw these charming  tiny little birds in Lane Cove National Park in Sydney - they were generally in pairs  going through trees looking for insects. Very fast moving but not timid or shy. These pics are three different individuals but i believe the same species. I expected they would be a type of thornbill but cannot find one in the book with that dark line from the beak through to the eyes. The birds were off white underneath and brown/olive/grey ontop, there was no yellow. 

Hope someone can help with an id.

Thanks WD

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Is the first photo the same as the other two? They seem to differ slightly from my point of view.

WhistlingDuck

Hi Nathan

They are three different individuals, in different trees  -  but i thought all were of the same species (but im a beginner so might well be mistaken).   

Araminta
Araminta's picture

Could be a Gerygone and a Jacky Winter? But I'm not too certainsad

M-L

WhistlingDuck

Hi Araminta .... thanks for the suggestions. I looked up the Gerygones, and maybe they are Brown Gerygones, although the eye in my pics appears dark rather than red. Other than that they look a good match for Brown Gerygone. Habitat and behaviour sounds right too.  

It was a tiny bird, a bit smaller than a silvereye - so i think a Jacky Winter would be a bit bigger than them. 

Thanks

WD

ihewman
ihewman's picture

WhistlingDuck wrote:

I looked up the Gerygones, and maybe they are Brown Gerygones, although the eye in my pics appears dark rather than red.

That may be because of the lighting conditions in the forest... but the black lores suggest none other than Brown Gerygone.

Brandon (aka ihewman)

WhistlingDuck

Hi Brandon ... Thanks for confirming that ...WD

robbierobot

Definitely Brown Gerygones, at least the first two. 

The reddish brown eyes and the thin white over-eye line above the thicker black lores help ID a Gerygone over other birds.

The best way to practice bird IDs, I think, is to use Google image search... Hundreds of pics of any bird in different positions and lighting :)

WhistlingDuck

Hi Robbie ... thanks for your help id'ing the bird. When I have found a likely species match in my field guide for a bird I have seen, then I do as you suggest and search online for images of that species to compare with my photo and confirm my ID. Failing that, I ask on here.

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