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Post by des on Sept 17, 2012 9:17:50 GMT
I am fairly sure this is a rare photo of an immature Little/Gould's/? Bronze-cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillus poecilurus, suggested in a new book to be split as Chrysococcyx poecilurus
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Post by des on Aug 22, 2012 17:17:03 GMT
I broadly agree with Ely, though since females lack the white wing patch, I suggest that the immatures are immature males rather than immature females.
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Post by des on Aug 21, 2012 21:27:18 GMT
I suspect it is a tail-less Pied Fantail
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Post by des on Aug 20, 2012 20:45:53 GMT
Ramon, we can see a distinct yellow gape line suggesting that this is a juvenile bird. These lack the grey in the crown and also have rather chocolate secondaries. I haven't noticed a yellow pectoral? tuft before but the breast markings suggest it is a Philippine Bulbul.
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Post by des on Jul 29, 2012 6:39:11 GMT
Great photos! The Mindanao Island Verditer is clearly very different-looking
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Post by des on Jul 29, 2012 6:37:52 GMT
Ramon, FWIW in the IOC list the babbler has been split in 2, this being Pin-striped Babbler, and the Flameback has been split to Spot-throated Flameback
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Post by des on Jul 2, 2012 18:56:34 GMT
It is possible that this is a relevant paper: Greenberg & Danner (in press). The influence of the California marine layer on bill size in a generalist songbird. Evolution. Keywords: Allen's Rule;Heat Dissipation;Mediterranean Climate;Geographic Variation;Thermography ABSTRACT The hypothesis is tested that birds in hotter and drier environments may have larger bills to increase the surface area for heat dissipation. California provides a climatic gradient to test the influence of climate on bill size. Much of California experiences dry warm/hot summers and coastal areas experience cooler summers than interior localities. Based on measurements from 1488 museum skins, song sparrows showed increasing body-size corrected bill surface area from the coast to the interior and declining in the far eastern desert. As predicted by Newton's convective heat transfer equation, relative bill size increased monotonically with temperature, and then decreased where average high temperatures exceed body temperature. Of the variables considered, distance from coast, average high summer temperature, and potential evapotranspiration showed a strong quadratic association with bill size and rainfall had a weaker negative relationship. Song sparrows on larger, warmer islands also had larger bills. A subsample of radiographed specimens showed that skeletal bill size is also correlated with temperature, demonstrating that bill size differences are not a result of variation in growth and wear of keratin. Combined with recent thermographic studies of heat loss in song sparrow bills, these results support the hypothesis that bill size in California song sparrows is selected for heat dissipation.
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Post by des on Jul 2, 2012 11:23:37 GMT
OK thanks. Certainly the second photo looks like juvenile Red-keeled Flowerpecker. The first photo may also but I can't see the bill very well.
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Post by des on Jul 2, 2012 10:10:10 GMT
Steve, yes i would go with BNMonarch for the first one. It is a tough call though. BPFCs seem to have a longer head so the eye appears relatively more forward. I think this is just because the crest is longer and that gives them a bulkier nape. Female BPFCs tend not to have black on the forehead and chin and to lack the prominent rictal bristles, but these seem not to be 100% features. I agree it has a particularly large bill, perhaps the biggest around for that species. There seems to be some variability in bill shape and size within BNM. We need a lot more photos of both species of relevant subspecies posted to eg orientalbirdimages.org, to get a better impression of the natural variation and what is possible within each species. Great set of photos and thanks for posting. Surely the first photos of fledgling Ruddy KF of the Palawan ssp. Is that a white patch in the primaries of the adult RKF, or is it an artefact?
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Post by des on Jul 2, 2012 9:35:35 GMT
Malaysian Blue Flycatchers are very variable in the intensity of the rufous on the breast. Some are near white. It may be genetic variability - maybe it just needs more sunshine
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Post by des on Jul 2, 2012 9:17:12 GMT
And where, roughly, is your usual bird spotting area?
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Post by des on Jul 1, 2012 11:31:02 GMT
Thanks Steve. I would think several of the other species are very well studied and helpers would have been noticed. I wonder if Rufous PFC does it and how easy it would be to notice a different male.
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Post by des on Jul 1, 2012 6:24:36 GMT
Great documentation. Yes I think it must be a 'helper' male. IA quick search of wiki etc did not bring up any mention of helpers in other Terpsiphone spp. Steve - any mention in HBW (which i don't have. Ramon, I hope you can buy another 800 hectares By the way, nest photography is greatly discouraged in some countries eg India, but there the breeding behaviour of the birds has already been very well documented.
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Post by des on Jun 23, 2012 9:55:05 GMT
Lot's of cosy looking rattan too Do you have a canopy to your blind/hide? It looks as though it is just on one side. It is best to have it all around you so that the birds can't see you when they fly around to see what the new object is. It also keeps you nice and warm on a cold day, and stops the mosquitoes getting lost.
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Post by des on Jun 20, 2012 8:23:18 GMT
Great photos! The mother looks very wary though. Her pupils are small suggesting she is focussing at a distance rather than just on her chicks. Could you get some camouflage netting to drape over you position? Did the male visit at all? Or was he watching you carefully and giving alarm calls to his mate? Nevertheless it looks like they will rear their chicks successfully
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Post by des on Jun 17, 2012 8:12:59 GMT
Nice set! I am sure there will be more species...
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Post by des on Jun 13, 2012 8:42:01 GMT
These are young Brahminy Kites. I am not sure of their age though.
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Post by des on Jun 12, 2012 8:40:53 GMT
Looks OK for PBFC to me. Note the lack of black on the chin and the pale blue forehead and possible eyebrow in the top photo. Song is good for confirmation.
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Post by des on Jun 11, 2012 9:43:52 GMT
From the type description: Phlloscopus cebuensis sorsogonensis new subspecies Type. FieldMuseumofNaturalHistoryno.275,746,fromMt. Bulusan, San Roque, Bulusan, Sorsogon Province, Luzon, altitude feet. Adult collected 4 1961 D. S. Rabor. 1,500-2,000 — male, May by Diagnosis. Most like P. c. cebuensis from Negros Island but averagesdeeperyellowonchin,throat,andsidesofhead. Wingcf 55-60— 57.4 (10) (avg. mm.). Range. SouthernLuzoninCamarinesSurandSorsogonProv- inces, altitude 300-3,500 feet. It seems advisable to consider cebuensis a species with three races: sorsogonensis, yellowest race, southern Luzon; cebuensis, medium yellow, Negros; luzonensis, least yellow race, northern Luzon. P. olivaceus is thus left as monotypic.
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Post by des on Jun 11, 2012 9:15:54 GMT
By the way, I wouldn't expect ssp sorsogonensis at BK. It should be luzonensis.
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