BJ's Birding Lessons - Part 12 - LBJs
Aug. 15th, 2009 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyreWow, I finally managed to get it up. The plan was to go through all the non-passerines and then move on to passerines. But I really wanted to do this set, so dammit I'm doing it.
Now, I hear you saying, "Passerines? Non-passerines? What the hell are you on about?" Non-passerines (they come first in the taxonomy, because they are 'older' evolution-wise) and Passerines are the two groups of birds. Passerines are also known as perching birds or songbirds. Both names are pretty misleading because some non-passerine birds perch and sing quite prettily. There are some non-passerines (ravens and crows come to mind) who desperately need singing lessons. The real difference comes in the developed syrinx (a bit like our larynx, which allows for all the singing) and altricial young. Oh gee, here she goes with another weird word. Altricial is the opposite of precocial. Chickens, ducks and geese provide excellent examples of precocial young. They hatch fully feathered and are able to run around and feed themselves within a matter of minutes. Altricial young hatch ugly and featherless. They gape in the nest so the parent birds know where to put the food and take a while to grow feathers.
Okay, now you've learned a few new words to impress people at the next dinner party. As they say.
Today I'm going to talk to you about a bunch of birds many birders refer to as "LBJs", which stands for "Little Brown Jobs". In Australia, many of these guys aren't that brown, some are quite colourful (well the males at least are). What they are is small, and they have a tendency to hang around in trees and hide behind leaves. They're the birds that are all around you, but you probably won't notice them unless you're looking for them. The big thing is these guys is learning their calls. Once you know the calls you at least then know what you're looking for and thus where to look. I've selected the most common LBJs in the metro area for this post. I may do a post later covering some of the not so common ones.
Let's start with the easy ones.
WHISTLERS
Whistlers are comparitively large, have a distinctive call and have very colourful males.
Rufous Whistler - Pachycephala rufiventris
Photo by Nora of Birdforum.
This is the most common whistler in the metro area and can be found anywhere there are big trees. They are generally only found alone or in male/female pairs. If two males come within proximity of each other you'll probably hear about it because they will be calling at each other. I think if what they whistle could be translated to English it probably wouldn't be suitable for children. Males are territorial and can easily be whistled up. Heck, I even once found one that reacted violently to me slamming a car door! Their call is a series of upwards whistles (almost like whistling to a dog) and an almost whip-crack like "eeeee-chong". Wikipedia has a great bit of footage of a male singing. Once you've tracked down the call here's what to look for -
- A bird about the size of a Willie Wagtail.
- Grey back (with distinct outlining of the wing feathers).
- Rufous belly.
- White throat surrounded by a black band across the eyes and the chest.
- Females are brownish overall with speckled chests and the same beady eye that the male has. They also have the distinctive, defined wing feathers. Females call just as much as males do.
Rufous Whistlers feed mainly on insects in the canopies of trees.
Female Rufous Whistler
Photo by Geoff Jones of Birdforum.
Golden Whistler - Pachycephala pectoralis
Photo by Nora of Birdforum.
Golden Whistlers around Perth tend to stick to more heavily wooded areas in the hills and the southern suburbs. Their call differs from the Rufous Whistler, it's quicker, thinner and more abrupt. And it's impossible to properly describe bird calls with text.
- Male Golden Whistlers are bright yellow where Rufous Whistlers are... rufous.
- Females have plain bellies.
- Juvenille Goldies are an overall ruddy colour, just to confuse the issue.
PARDALOTES
Pardalotes are tiny, very pretty and loud. They're also very tough to actually see.
Striated Pardalote - Pardalotus striatus
Photo by Rose Fletcher of Birdforum.
The Striated Pardalote is actually really common anywhere there are tall eucalypts. They flit about in the upper canopy pecking bugs called lerps of the leaves. They also like to hide behind those leaves and you'll get a neck strain looking up trying to spot them. You WILL hear their call in late winter and spring, a loud, strident, persistent "whit-whit" or "whitta-whitta". I have heard one person describe the Striated Pardalote as looking like a boiled lolly. A couple of defining features -
- Orange eyebrow.
- Black cap with white speckles.
- Red in the wings, with overall black and white striping - kinda like a boiled lolly.
- Yellow wash across the throat, chest and belly.
Listen for them, they're everywhere!
Spotted Pardalote - Pardalotus punctatus
Photo by fthsm of Birdforum.
The Spotted Pardalote is a bit rarer than the Striated Pardalote, and keeps more quiet. You're more likely to find it near riverbanks and areas where there is an appropriate vertical surface of dirt for them to burrow in and nest. When it does call it has a high "deet-deet" call. This pardalote is also known as the Diamondbird due to the pretty white spots on it's crown and wings.
LITTLE BIRDS THAT ARE ACTUALLY BROWN
Western Gerygone - Gerygone fusca
Photo by davidfree of Birdforum.
I have heard the name of this bird pronounced various ways. I have heard "Jerry-gawn", "jerijinee" and "geri-go-knee", but the way I pronounce it is how I have heard it pronounced most often "Jeri-go-knee". Apparently the name is Greek for "Born of sound", which is quite lovely. Another old name for these birds is the Lazy Jack, which alludes to their call, a series of lazy descending whistles. To me it almost seems like they have whistled a few notes, thought about it, decided to maybe pipe out one or two more notes, then figure "Eh, that'll do." and the call ends. They DO have a much perkier whistle too, which seems to be more prevalent during the breeding season. If you hear a Gerygone look for them in the mid-canopy, where they hunt insects. A Western Gerygone has the following features -
- Greyish brown colouring.
- Red eye with white eyebrow.
- Black tail feathers with white tips - if you spot this it is diagnostic of this species.
White-browed Scrubwren - Sericornis frontalis
Photo by The Magpie of Birdforum.
This fellow is very common anywhere there is thick scrub in coastal areas, VERY vocal, and very tough to see. The best thing to do is pish or squeak them up (either by making pishy, squeaky sounds with your lips or using an 'Audubon Bird Caller' (known among birdos as a 'squeaker') which is a small device that makes squeaky sounds that certain birds can't resist investigating. The White-browed Scrubwren is one of these very curious birds. A bit of squeaking and patience and they will usually become very vocal and pop out somewhere where you can see them. Their high pitched calls and white eyebrow make them seem very angry at you. Apart from the long white eyebrow also look for -
- overall dark brown/grey colouring.
- white chest with speckles.
- white eye.
Weebill - Smicrornis brevirostris
Photo by Tom Tarrant of Birdforum.
The Weebill is possibly Australia's smallest bird. And one of the loudest. It seems most of these tiny birds compensate for their small size by having LOUD voices. If there are tall trees listen out for the strident "Wee-bit!" call of the Weebill. While they usually spend most of their time high in trees, hiding behind leaves and searching for insects, I find Weebills are very easy to pish up and will often make themselves visible. I have had a Weebill mucking about in a shrub less than a metre from me and another dust bathing on the ground almost as close. They may be tiny but they are pretty fearless. So, how do you know what you're looking at is a Weebill?
- Tiny bird with an equally tiny bill (I don't know if the name Weebill comes from their call or from their smallness.)
- Greenish to yellowish colour - this varies among sub-species.
- White eye.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill - Acanthiza chrysorrhoa
Photo by Lima of Birdforum.
If you hear me referring to a bird as a "Butterbutt", these are the birds I'm talking about. Yellow-rumped Thornbills are very common in most parklands and can often be found in small groups, hopping across clearings under the trees. Listen for their high pitched tinkling calls. The photo above is not the best, but it DOES show the two distinguishing features of this bird -
- White speckles on a black cap and
- Yellow rump! This is pretty hard to see when they are bouncing along on the ground, but watch out for it if they fly.
AND THE REST
Silvereye - Zosterops lateralis
Photo by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
moonvoice. These are actually wild birds that have flown into a cage at Caversham Wildlife Park to take advantage of the caged birds food.
The Silvereye is probably pretty familiar, being common in gardens everywhere and being a scourge to anyone attempting to grow fruit. They peck my mum's grapes just before they're ripe - so I sent her a birthday card with Silvereyes on it. The Silvereye is a rather small bird with a twittering call that sounds like laughing to me. A few other things to look for -
- Green back and grey belly (only the south-west subspecies has a fully green back. In the eastern states Silvereyes have grey shoulders.)
- Distinctive white eye ring. This is unmissable if you get a good look at the bird and diagnostic.
Splendid Fairy-wren - Malurus splendens
Photo by MikeBouette of Birdforum.
Okay, this guy is hardly drab and brown. But I've included him here because Splendid Fairy-wrens are more common than you probably think, being found in most large areas of bushland with suitable low scrub for them to hide in, they are small, and because his Missus certainly is a drab "LBJ" type bird.
Photo by MikeBouette of Birdforum.
Again, you will probably hear the calls before spotting the birds. It is often described in field guides as a "high pitched reel" and honestly, I can't think of a better way to describe it. Both males and females call. Fairy-wrens are promiscuous and you'll usually find one or two males among a bunch of females. There are a couple of other fairy-wrens you may come across around Perth, so how do you tell a Splendid Fairy-wren?
- Breeding males are BRIGHT blue all over, with even more neon cheek ptahces. Non breeding males may be plain brown or have patchy blue feathers.
- Females are brown, but can be distinguished by their red bills, red lores (the feathers between the beak and eye) and blue tails.
- Fairy-wrens in general are small, long-legged and have long tails that are held erect. They remind me of mice as they dash about in the undergrowth. They are rarely seen very high up.
Grey Fantail - Rhipidura fuliginosa
Photo by Rose Fletcher of Birdforum.
The Grey Fantail is a close relative of the familiar Willie Wagtail. (The Willie Wagtail itself is techincally a fantail and NOT a wagtail - which are a completely different bunch of birds). They can be found anywhere with a bit of bushland and a tall tree or two. The great thing about Grey Fantails is that they are the bird that watches YOU. Just make a bit of a noise and they will get very curious and come down to investigate. How does one describe the call? It's one of those calls I know upon hearing but is hard to describe. It's high pitched, chattery, with frequent single notes as they flit about hawking for insects. Another thing about the Grey Fantail, like the Willie Wagtail they are rarely still and constantly fanning their tails out to scare up insects which they quickly snatch up and devour. The grey fantail varies wildly across the country but can be distinguished by -
- Overall grey colour, sometimes with a reddish wash.
- White bib and eyebrow.
- White patches in the wings.
Mistletoebird - Dicaeum hirundinaceum
Photo by Neil of Birdforum.
The Mistletoebird male is a Christmas decoration in himself. This is another surprisingly common bird that often goes un-noticed, probably because their food source - mistletoe - often goes un-noticed too. Yes, Australia has plenty of native mistletoes. If you ever driven along a country road and noticed gum trees with large areas of drooping yellow or reddish leaves - these are not dead or dying branches - these are mistletoes. Another common mistletoe grows on acacia trees. All mistletoes have bright red flowers. The mistletoe and mistletoebird have a symbiotic relationship. The birds eats the fruit of the mistletoe which is sticky and goes largely undigested. When it comes time for the leftovers to come out the other end, the mistletoebird has to wipe it's bum along a branch to get rid of the sticky residue - thus the mistletoe seed is deposited on a convenient branch with a nice package of bird poo as fertiliser. The mistletoebird has a high, three-note call. Ask me to imitate it next time you see me if you like, I've been told I can do the call pretty accurately, but I wouldn't be able to describe it in words.
- Male mistletoebirds are stunning, with dark navy blue backs and heads, white bellies, a navy stripe down the middle of the belly, and a bright red throat and vent. The black stripe on the belly varies wildly in straightness and width.
- Female birds are a lot drabber and overall brown, but they still have a red wash on the vent.
Now, I hear you saying, "Passerines? Non-passerines? What the hell are you on about?" Non-passerines (they come first in the taxonomy, because they are 'older' evolution-wise) and Passerines are the two groups of birds. Passerines are also known as perching birds or songbirds. Both names are pretty misleading because some non-passerine birds perch and sing quite prettily. There are some non-passerines (ravens and crows come to mind) who desperately need singing lessons. The real difference comes in the developed syrinx (a bit like our larynx, which allows for all the singing) and altricial young. Oh gee, here she goes with another weird word. Altricial is the opposite of precocial. Chickens, ducks and geese provide excellent examples of precocial young. They hatch fully feathered and are able to run around and feed themselves within a matter of minutes. Altricial young hatch ugly and featherless. They gape in the nest so the parent birds know where to put the food and take a while to grow feathers.
Okay, now you've learned a few new words to impress people at the next dinner party. As they say.
Today I'm going to talk to you about a bunch of birds many birders refer to as "LBJs", which stands for "Little Brown Jobs". In Australia, many of these guys aren't that brown, some are quite colourful (well the males at least are). What they are is small, and they have a tendency to hang around in trees and hide behind leaves. They're the birds that are all around you, but you probably won't notice them unless you're looking for them. The big thing is these guys is learning their calls. Once you know the calls you at least then know what you're looking for and thus where to look. I've selected the most common LBJs in the metro area for this post. I may do a post later covering some of the not so common ones.
Let's start with the easy ones.
WHISTLERS
Whistlers are comparitively large, have a distinctive call and have very colourful males.
Rufous Whistler - Pachycephala rufiventris
Photo by Nora of Birdforum.
This is the most common whistler in the metro area and can be found anywhere there are big trees. They are generally only found alone or in male/female pairs. If two males come within proximity of each other you'll probably hear about it because they will be calling at each other. I think if what they whistle could be translated to English it probably wouldn't be suitable for children. Males are territorial and can easily be whistled up. Heck, I even once found one that reacted violently to me slamming a car door! Their call is a series of upwards whistles (almost like whistling to a dog) and an almost whip-crack like "eeeee-chong". Wikipedia has a great bit of footage of a male singing. Once you've tracked down the call here's what to look for -
- A bird about the size of a Willie Wagtail.
- Grey back (with distinct outlining of the wing feathers).
- Rufous belly.
- White throat surrounded by a black band across the eyes and the chest.
- Females are brownish overall with speckled chests and the same beady eye that the male has. They also have the distinctive, defined wing feathers. Females call just as much as males do.
Rufous Whistlers feed mainly on insects in the canopies of trees.
Female Rufous Whistler
Photo by Geoff Jones of Birdforum.
Golden Whistler - Pachycephala pectoralis
Photo by Nora of Birdforum.
Golden Whistlers around Perth tend to stick to more heavily wooded areas in the hills and the southern suburbs. Their call differs from the Rufous Whistler, it's quicker, thinner and more abrupt. And it's impossible to properly describe bird calls with text.
- Male Golden Whistlers are bright yellow where Rufous Whistlers are... rufous.
- Females have plain bellies.
- Juvenille Goldies are an overall ruddy colour, just to confuse the issue.
PARDALOTES
Pardalotes are tiny, very pretty and loud. They're also very tough to actually see.
Striated Pardalote - Pardalotus striatus
Photo by Rose Fletcher of Birdforum.
The Striated Pardalote is actually really common anywhere there are tall eucalypts. They flit about in the upper canopy pecking bugs called lerps of the leaves. They also like to hide behind those leaves and you'll get a neck strain looking up trying to spot them. You WILL hear their call in late winter and spring, a loud, strident, persistent "whit-whit" or "whitta-whitta". I have heard one person describe the Striated Pardalote as looking like a boiled lolly. A couple of defining features -
- Orange eyebrow.
- Black cap with white speckles.
- Red in the wings, with overall black and white striping - kinda like a boiled lolly.
- Yellow wash across the throat, chest and belly.
Listen for them, they're everywhere!
Spotted Pardalote - Pardalotus punctatus
Photo by fthsm of Birdforum.
The Spotted Pardalote is a bit rarer than the Striated Pardalote, and keeps more quiet. You're more likely to find it near riverbanks and areas where there is an appropriate vertical surface of dirt for them to burrow in and nest. When it does call it has a high "deet-deet" call. This pardalote is also known as the Diamondbird due to the pretty white spots on it's crown and wings.
LITTLE BIRDS THAT ARE ACTUALLY BROWN
Western Gerygone - Gerygone fusca
Photo by davidfree of Birdforum.
I have heard the name of this bird pronounced various ways. I have heard "Jerry-gawn", "jerijinee" and "geri-go-knee", but the way I pronounce it is how I have heard it pronounced most often "Jeri-go-knee". Apparently the name is Greek for "Born of sound", which is quite lovely. Another old name for these birds is the Lazy Jack, which alludes to their call, a series of lazy descending whistles. To me it almost seems like they have whistled a few notes, thought about it, decided to maybe pipe out one or two more notes, then figure "Eh, that'll do." and the call ends. They DO have a much perkier whistle too, which seems to be more prevalent during the breeding season. If you hear a Gerygone look for them in the mid-canopy, where they hunt insects. A Western Gerygone has the following features -
- Greyish brown colouring.
- Red eye with white eyebrow.
- Black tail feathers with white tips - if you spot this it is diagnostic of this species.
White-browed Scrubwren - Sericornis frontalis
Photo by The Magpie of Birdforum.
This fellow is very common anywhere there is thick scrub in coastal areas, VERY vocal, and very tough to see. The best thing to do is pish or squeak them up (either by making pishy, squeaky sounds with your lips or using an 'Audubon Bird Caller' (known among birdos as a 'squeaker') which is a small device that makes squeaky sounds that certain birds can't resist investigating. The White-browed Scrubwren is one of these very curious birds. A bit of squeaking and patience and they will usually become very vocal and pop out somewhere where you can see them. Their high pitched calls and white eyebrow make them seem very angry at you. Apart from the long white eyebrow also look for -
- overall dark brown/grey colouring.
- white chest with speckles.
- white eye.
Weebill - Smicrornis brevirostris
Photo by Tom Tarrant of Birdforum.
The Weebill is possibly Australia's smallest bird. And one of the loudest. It seems most of these tiny birds compensate for their small size by having LOUD voices. If there are tall trees listen out for the strident "Wee-bit!" call of the Weebill. While they usually spend most of their time high in trees, hiding behind leaves and searching for insects, I find Weebills are very easy to pish up and will often make themselves visible. I have had a Weebill mucking about in a shrub less than a metre from me and another dust bathing on the ground almost as close. They may be tiny but they are pretty fearless. So, how do you know what you're looking at is a Weebill?
- Tiny bird with an equally tiny bill (I don't know if the name Weebill comes from their call or from their smallness.)
- Greenish to yellowish colour - this varies among sub-species.
- White eye.
Yellow-rumped Thornbill - Acanthiza chrysorrhoa
Photo by Lima of Birdforum.
If you hear me referring to a bird as a "Butterbutt", these are the birds I'm talking about. Yellow-rumped Thornbills are very common in most parklands and can often be found in small groups, hopping across clearings under the trees. Listen for their high pitched tinkling calls. The photo above is not the best, but it DOES show the two distinguishing features of this bird -
- White speckles on a black cap and
- Yellow rump! This is pretty hard to see when they are bouncing along on the ground, but watch out for it if they fly.
AND THE REST
Silvereye - Zosterops lateralis
Photo by
moonvoice. These are actually wild birds that have flown into a cage at Caversham Wildlife Park to take advantage of the caged birds food.The Silvereye is probably pretty familiar, being common in gardens everywhere and being a scourge to anyone attempting to grow fruit. They peck my mum's grapes just before they're ripe - so I sent her a birthday card with Silvereyes on it. The Silvereye is a rather small bird with a twittering call that sounds like laughing to me. A few other things to look for -
- Green back and grey belly (only the south-west subspecies has a fully green back. In the eastern states Silvereyes have grey shoulders.)
- Distinctive white eye ring. This is unmissable if you get a good look at the bird and diagnostic.
Splendid Fairy-wren - Malurus splendens
Photo by MikeBouette of Birdforum.
Okay, this guy is hardly drab and brown. But I've included him here because Splendid Fairy-wrens are more common than you probably think, being found in most large areas of bushland with suitable low scrub for them to hide in, they are small, and because his Missus certainly is a drab "LBJ" type bird.
Photo by MikeBouette of Birdforum.
Again, you will probably hear the calls before spotting the birds. It is often described in field guides as a "high pitched reel" and honestly, I can't think of a better way to describe it. Both males and females call. Fairy-wrens are promiscuous and you'll usually find one or two males among a bunch of females. There are a couple of other fairy-wrens you may come across around Perth, so how do you tell a Splendid Fairy-wren?
- Breeding males are BRIGHT blue all over, with even more neon cheek ptahces. Non breeding males may be plain brown or have patchy blue feathers.
- Females are brown, but can be distinguished by their red bills, red lores (the feathers between the beak and eye) and blue tails.
- Fairy-wrens in general are small, long-legged and have long tails that are held erect. They remind me of mice as they dash about in the undergrowth. They are rarely seen very high up.
Grey Fantail - Rhipidura fuliginosa
Photo by Rose Fletcher of Birdforum.
The Grey Fantail is a close relative of the familiar Willie Wagtail. (The Willie Wagtail itself is techincally a fantail and NOT a wagtail - which are a completely different bunch of birds). They can be found anywhere with a bit of bushland and a tall tree or two. The great thing about Grey Fantails is that they are the bird that watches YOU. Just make a bit of a noise and they will get very curious and come down to investigate. How does one describe the call? It's one of those calls I know upon hearing but is hard to describe. It's high pitched, chattery, with frequent single notes as they flit about hawking for insects. Another thing about the Grey Fantail, like the Willie Wagtail they are rarely still and constantly fanning their tails out to scare up insects which they quickly snatch up and devour. The grey fantail varies wildly across the country but can be distinguished by -
- Overall grey colour, sometimes with a reddish wash.
- White bib and eyebrow.
- White patches in the wings.
Mistletoebird - Dicaeum hirundinaceum
Photo by Neil of Birdforum.
The Mistletoebird male is a Christmas decoration in himself. This is another surprisingly common bird that often goes un-noticed, probably because their food source - mistletoe - often goes un-noticed too. Yes, Australia has plenty of native mistletoes. If you ever driven along a country road and noticed gum trees with large areas of drooping yellow or reddish leaves - these are not dead or dying branches - these are mistletoes. Another common mistletoe grows on acacia trees. All mistletoes have bright red flowers. The mistletoe and mistletoebird have a symbiotic relationship. The birds eats the fruit of the mistletoe which is sticky and goes largely undigested. When it comes time for the leftovers to come out the other end, the mistletoebird has to wipe it's bum along a branch to get rid of the sticky residue - thus the mistletoe seed is deposited on a convenient branch with a nice package of bird poo as fertiliser. The mistletoebird has a high, three-note call. Ask me to imitate it next time you see me if you like, I've been told I can do the call pretty accurately, but I wouldn't be able to describe it in words.
- Male mistletoebirds are stunning, with dark navy blue backs and heads, white bellies, a navy stripe down the middle of the belly, and a bright red throat and vent. The black stripe on the belly varies wildly in straightness and width.
- Female birds are a lot drabber and overall brown, but they still have a red wash on the vent.
