Wednesday, May 6, 2015

MANGROVE GOLDEN WHISTLER

Photographed at Broome Bird Observatory, Western Australia, May 2015

593       MANGROVE GOLDEN WHISTLER           Pachycephala melanura

Australia          (436)

Also known as Black-tailed Whistler. 15-17 cm. Found in mangroves, coastal rainforests or monsoon forest; riverside thickets, eucalyptus woodlands, coastal scrubs/heath. Range: coastal n. Aust., many coastal islands; from Carnarvon mangroves (WA) to near Mackay (Q).



Female.

TORRESIAN CROW

Photographed at Broome Bird Observatory, Western Australia, May 2015
592           TORRESIAN CROW                Corvus Orru

Australian            (435)

48-53 cm. Found on rainforest margins; open forests, woodlands, taller inland/coastal scrubs; beaches, tidal areas; in arid regions, ranges, gorges, timber on larger watercourses; also farms, settlements. Range: from c. Raymond Terrace (e. NSW), throughout n. and inland Aust. (except far sw Q. and driest deserts); s. through s. NT to Mann, Musgrave and Everard Rs.-Eringa (nw. SA); in WA, s. coastally to c. Geraldton, s. to c. Corrigin-Norseman.




BROWN SONGLARK

Photographed on the highway south of Broome, Western Australia May 2015
591           BROWN SONGLARK               Cinclohamphus cruralis

Australia              (434)

Male 24-26 cm; female 18-19 cm. Found in pastures, cereal crops; in inland, open grassy country, saltbush etc. Range: mainland Australia, mainly s. of Tropic and inland Gt Divide: reaches coasts in ce. Q, w. Vic, SA, most of WA s. of Broome. Highly nomadic.





Tuesday, May 5, 2015

PAPERBARK FLYCATCHER

Photographed at Broome Bird Observatory, Western Australia, May 2015
590          PAPERBARK FLYCATCHER            Myiagra nana

Australia           (433)

Also known as the Little Restless Flycatcher. Found in tropical woodland and riverine habitats of northern woodland habitat of n. Australia and s. New Guinea: found from Kimberley Region of WA, across Top End of NT, to Gulf Country and sw Q.; Saibai Island in Torres Strait. Was regarded as a subspecies of Restless Flycatcher. 




GREAT BOWERBIRD

Photographed at Broome Bird Observatory, Western Australia, May 2015
589          GREAT BOWERBIRD               Chlamydera nuchalis

Australia          (432)

34-38 cm. Found in drier woodlands, shrubs/thickets; near water, outer urban areas, parks, gardens. Range from c. Broome (WA) through Kimberley, Top End (NT) s. to about Elliott; Gulf Coast s. to Nicholson, O'Shannassy, upper Flinders Rs; occasional s. to Mt Isa (Q); C. York Pen., coastal to near Mackay.





AUSTRALIAN PRANTINCOLE

Photographed 40 kms south of Broome, Western Australia, May 2015
588            AUSTRALIAN PRATINCOLE             Stiltia isabella

Australia        (431)

22-24 cm, wingspan 50-60 cm. Found in the vicinity of water on inland plains to coastal floodplains; stony ground with sparse low shrubs; bare margins of swamps; stock-tanks, stock routes, airfields. Range: n. and inland e. Aust, from c. Eighty Mile Beach (WA) to Rockhampton (Q), s. to coastal SA;casual in inland WA and Nullarbor Plain. Breeds mostly s. of Tropic, migrates n. in autumn-winter to n. Aust. ; Torres Strait, PNG, Indonesia, Borneo.







RED-BROWED PARDALOTE

Photographed at DeGray River Bridge, Western Australia, May 2015
587         RED-BROWED PARDALOTE              Pardalotus rubricatus

Australia           (430)

11-12 cm. Found in drier eucalypt woodlands, scrublands; tall mulga and other acacias; gums on watercourses. Range: found coastal n. and inland Aust., except Top End (NT); s. on e. coast to c. Rockhampton (Q); s. inland to Mitchell (Q); nw. NSW s., and e, to Brewarrina-Hilelston-Broken Hill; n. to Flinders Ras., -Gawler Ras, Gt Victoria Desert; in WA, to w. coast from Gascotne R., n. to Kimberley region.




















Red-browed Pardalote emerging from its nesting hole, taken at Bowra Station, Queensland September 2015

Sunday, May 3, 2015

BLACK-EARED CUCKOO

Photographed at Degray River Bridge, Western Australia, May 2015
586         BLACK-EARED CUCKOO             Chrysococcyx osculans

Australia            (429)

19-21 cm. Found in drier woodlands, scrublands,: mallee, mulga, lignum, saltmarsh, riverside thickets. Range: inland, drier coastal Aust. Breeding migrant to subcoastal s. Aust. Not e. coast, Vict. coast or Tasmania.






Wednesday, April 29, 2015

DUSTY GERYGONE

Photographed at Carnarvon, Western Australia April 2015; Note: same photograph just cropped.
585          DUSKY GERYGONE           Gerygone tenebrosa

Australia          (428)

The largest of the Gerygones, 11-13 cm. Found in mangroves, nearby swampland, creased mangrove. Range: coastal nw. WA, from nw Kimberley to Shark Bay, except where mangroves absent. 


PIED HONEYEATER

Photographed at Carnarvon, Western Australia April 2015
584         PIED HONEYEATER            Certhionyx variegatus

Australia          (427)

15-18 cm. Found in arid scrubland, mulga, mallee-spinifex, flowering shrubs/trees, eucalyptus woodlands. Range: arid interior, e. to c. Q-NSW c. Port Headland-Geraldton (WA); s. to Nullarbor Plain-Murray mallee (SA). Highly nomadic.