Having had a chance to sit down and have a better look at my photos from Lake Gilles last week, I thought it might be easier to ask about multiple birds, rather than a whole lot of individual posts.
I'm not sure about any but maybe the honeyeater looking birds is a White fronted.
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Hi Rick
Your birds are as follows:
1. Yellow-rumped Thornbill
2. Weebill
3. Brown-headed Honeyeater
4. White-fronted Honeyeater
5. Jacky Winter
6. Grey Shrike Thrush
7. Western Gerygone
All your photos are superb! Great job!
Curtis
Okay... from the top...
1.Yellow-rumped Thornbill (based on speckled b&w crown; this rules out Slender-billed Thornbill).
2. Weebill.
3. Brown-headed Honeyeater.
4. White-fronted Honeyeater.
5. Um... ah... um... geez... well... um... ah... maybe a young male Hooded Robin. What do others think?
6. Grey Shrike-thrush (immature).
7. Golden Whistler (female).
Lorne
Well Lorne and Cotton have done a wonderful job Id'ing these. Just incase though, number 5 is definitely a Jacky Winter and Number 7 is a Golden whistler (you can tell because it has the yellow colouring on the vent)
I think that it's a female.
Your Weebill shot is just superb!
Thanks everyone, your help is much appreciated.
Lorne and Elsie, are you absolutely sure that number 7 is a Golden Whistler? IMO, it is a Western Gerygone or if not, a Thornbill.
Curtis
Lot of great pics and variety. Love that weebill shot in particular.
Curtis... elongated breast, length of tail and broad shape of head point to whistler... the pale throat coming through the grey instantly gives that whistler look too... a Western Gergone (superficially similar) would have more white around eye and seem dumpier in appearance... Lorne
No. 5 may be a Jacky Winter, Curtis, but what's going on with the black on its crown and all that muddled chest appearance colour-wise? Mysterious. Lorne
Hi Lorne
OK, still not quite convinced. Do Golden Whistlers have red eyes? Field Guides don't illustrate or mention and photos online don't show it.
I think No. 5 is a Jacky Winter as I had said above. I can't see black on its crown though... maybe just dark grey as I can see? I see what you mean though by that muddled chest appearance with that dark grey colour. I would just leave it as Jacky Winter for now or until someone else decides that it isn't
. Hooded Robins are too dark for that bird in my opinion.
Curtis
Concerns on No. 5... I'm used to Jacky Winter, race fascinans, however the race withing that area is assimilis. Simpson & Day describe that race as darker, white tail feathers become black towards base. Grey-ish wash over breast and flanks. This describes your bird perfectly, whereas in race fascinans the outer tail feathers are completely white...
Sure is a Jacky Winter
Brandon (aka ihewman)
This might help, one of many female Golden Whistlers in my garden. I don't think they have red eyes?
M-L
1. Yellow-rumped thornbill
2. Weebill
3. Brown-headed honeyeater
4. White-fronted Honeyeater
5. Jacky Winter
6. Grey Shrike-thrush (though it looks really odd).
7. Definitely a whistler, looks like Golden. Only other possibility is Gilbert's and as far as I'm aware the adult females don't have a yellow wash like that.
Birding Blog: Close Encounters of the Bird Kind
I am definitely not an expert
however I do have a family of Golden whistlers in my garden at the moment. I think that the lighting has showed up the eyes to be rather red when normily under the foliage that they love - their eyes aren't so distinguishable. I have never seen a Western gerygone so I don't know enough to compare it. Just go with what somebody who has more expirience says
Golden Whistlers do indeed have blood-red eyes... check out this attached shot of a Hooded Robin... similar to No 5?! Lorne
And check this out... a pair of Hooded Robins... is the bird on the left No.5? If only No. 5 showed the wings! Thanks for presenting this challnge, Rick! Birding is such a gloriously frustrating activitiy! Lorne
Your bird is again a Jacky Winter, race assimilis, with the black-based tail feathers. To compare, Hooded Robins have white-based tail feathers, tipped black (opposite to Jacky Winter, race assimilis).
Brandon (aka ihewman)
Ah Rick , all you wanted was a simple ID ... LOL.
Seems as though No.7 is a tricky one. It certainly gets us scrambling for our reference books and archived photos to study and compare.
In my opinion I have to agree with Lorne, Golden Whistlers do inded have red eyes, and even when I firsted looked at photo No.7 I too was wondering if it could possibly be a Gerygone. But I am going to have to agree that this little beauty looks like a female Golden Whistler especially with the light marking on the throat.
Absoultely beautiful photos , and to agree with Lorne again this certainly was a challenge , great work.
Kerry - Perth, Western Australia.
+1 for #7 being a Female Golden Whistler. In a certain light at a certain angle, the iris of a female GW can definitely present as burgundy-red - google female GW and you'll find more than a few pics with redish eye colouration. Plus, if it were a Gerygone, at this clear front on angle, you would also be able to see the black undertail markings, particularly at the tip.
West Coast Tasmania
Thanks everyone for taking the time to help.Looked for another,clearer,photo but they were the same aspect.