I am an elderly novice observing my garden in Armadale, Melbourne. I am puzzled by ?3-4 very small birds amongst the potato jasmine and other flowers on a trellis. They all have the body shape and size of Eastern Spinebills, but a couple of them havethe neat (closed) wing shape/marking and I have the impression the beaks of Brown honeyeaters. One of these latter has a brilliant yellow chest and abdomen, the other being slightly duller, but brighter towards the tail. The backs of both of these are grey or grey-green.
They all have the same rapid, darting movements, making them hard to see for more than half a second or less at a time, and they are extremely camera-shy. I have only managed to capture one on camera (composite photo below), and that certainly looks like an Eastern Spinebill, but what are the others?
Perhaps they are juveniles?
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Re: suggestion that they are juveniles: Yes, I believe that at least one is - but that has far duller plumage. My real query is the identity of the otherwise very similar bird which has brilliant yellow feathers on ventral surfaces of thorax and abdomen, perhaps a somewhat shorter, curved beak and feeds on smaller potato jasmine flowers or on insects. The one I show in the photos seems positively dowdy by comparison!
Charlesh
All look good for Juvi Eastern Spinebill to me.
Thanks, Soakes, Devster: Eastern Spinebills they have to be: I was just put off by the brilliant yellow (not apparent in the juvenile I photographed), which was not mentioned for this species in my bird books or online sources, and I guess may have been accentuated by the way the sunlight was striking them
Charlesh
Another option might be a crescent honeyeater?
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia