Black face Woodswallow/Rufous Whistler

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laza
laza's picture
Black face Woodswallow/Rufous Whistler

Morning hike around Collie Rivermouth and I came across this little fella which im guessing is the Dusky woodswallow as Black faced arent usually found in the lower south west.

While I have seen a few of them around Bunbury , they are not usually very obilging photography models. In this case though he actually flew close to me and posed which made my day.

Plus I also came across a couple of Rufous Whistlers males who were too busy engaging in a song off to worry about me. Though pity they were holding their contest in dark part of the woodland in overcast conditions so light wasnt the best

HelloBirdy
HelloBirdy's picture

Great sets, especially the first pic. I think they are Black-faced- they don't look like duskys. Probably the easiest difference is whether it had the white streak at the edge of its wings. There is a November record of an individual in the location http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32442640

Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera

laza
laza's picture

Thanks Ryu

Hope it does turn out to be a black face as it will be a new tick  

Dont take life too seriously, it never ends well

rawshorty
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I agree with Ryu, the under tail coverts being black and grey breast to me is the give away. (race melanops)

Shorty......Canon gear

Canberra

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/ 

WhistlingDuck

Excellent shots - i love #2. 

When i first looked at the pics, i was struck by the distinct black mask on the woodswallows, more clearly delineated than i have noticed on dusky WS.  I think Ryu is on the right track - they dont quite look like the Duskys. 

Woko
Woko's picture

I believe that is a Black-faced Woodswallow, laza. It's range covers much of Australia including the south west of WA.

alcatraz
alcatraz's picture

Great shots laza, as usual. Thanks for sharing.

laza
laza's picture

Thanks for all input, I take the much learned opinion and put a tick in the Black face woodswallow box

Dont take life too seriously, it never ends well

Devster
Devster's picture

Gret photos, I love the Wood swallow ones. I looked at it and thought BFWS straight away. I didn't realise they were similar in appearance. I'll have to look at my guide. Always a good opportunity to learn.

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