Saturday 24 December 2011

Bird banding


    Last weekend I was at helping to catch and band birds at a study site in the forest near Moruya in south- 
    east New South Wales. The project is run by Micheal and Sarah Guppie, and Anthony Overs. Above is
    one of the main study species, a Variegated Fairy-Wren (adult male).
 


    The breeding season is almost over so there were many young birds such as the juvenile White-naped
     Honeyeater on the right above, whose plumage is much duller than that of the adult on the left. 

     Another of the honeyeater species was the New Holland Honeyeater, a bird which favours to feed on
     the nectar of banksias. These birds have splendid detail in their facial plumage.


      Below is an adult male Mistletoebird, which has a wonderful red breast and the sheen on its back is a
      rich deep metalic blue, appat from on the primaries and central tail feathers which are dull grey-brown.



       Another shining bird was the Shining Bronze-Cuckoo. Even the bars on its breast have a greenish
       lustre.


    And one of the last birds we caught was a Black-faced Monarch Flycatcher, an adult as identified by
    its fully black face markings.

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