Tag Archives: Australasian Warbler

Birds of the World – Kingfishers, Australasian Warblers, White-Eyes and Doves

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Blue-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon malimbica) at LPZ by Lee

Blue-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon malimbica) at LPZ by Lee – taken last week

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Psalms 40:5 KJV)

I have been working away on the different families of the Birds of the World. In the last few days, I was able to complete three more families at 100% and have one that needs five more images. Three of them have at least a photo or drawing of each of them. 100% done. That is a nice feeling. What beautiful birds are in those families. When the Lord created the birds, He used much variety in sizes, behaviors and colors. Even though it takes lots of time, it is enjoyable to be able to view so many of them. I am keeping an Excel spreadsheet of the families that shows each family, the number of species, how many are needed, and number seen so far. There are “10,476 extant species and 149 extinct species classified in 40 Orders,  231 Families (plus 6 Incertae Sedis) and 2268 Genera.” (IOC 3.3 Version) according to the IOC statement. Yet, when you add up the number of species of each family, they add up to 10,615. (10476+149=10,625) Somewhere there are 10 miscounted birds. Either way (10615 or 10,625), thats a lot of birds that are flying around the world for all of us to enjoy watching.

100 Percent of Images

Alcedinidae – Kingfishers – 95 Species

Acanthizidae – Australasian Warblers – 65 Species

Zosteropidae – White-eyes – 128 Species

The Pigeon and Doves have five photos that need to be found. After extensive search, they are still avoiding all the great photographers and artists out there. If any know of a source for these evaders, please leave a comment as to where to find a link to them. At least looking through these inspired the Birds of the Bible – Coat of Many Colors article.

Columbidae – Pigeons, Doves – 335 Species

** Need Photo **

  • Ryukyu Wood Pigeon (Columba jouyi †) Extinct
  • Rodrigues Pigeon (Nesoenas rodericana †) Extinct
  • Sulu Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba menagei)
  • Mindanao Brown Dove (Phapitreron brunneiceps) 
  • Comoros Green Pigeon (Treron griveaudi)

Below are a few of the birds from each family.

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Click on any of the Families to see the complete list of the species.

Alcedinidae – Kingfishers 

Acanthizidae – Australasian Warblers 

Zosteropidae – White-eyes

Columbidae – Pigeons, Doves

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Wordless Birds

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Thornbill

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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Thornbill ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 3/13/13

Are you good at those spot the differences games where you need to find usually ten subtle differences between two drawings? If so, this bird of the week, another in the series of Tasmanian endemics the Tasmanian Thornbill, is for you. The first two photos are of a Tasmanian Thornbill, the third is of its closest relative the Brown Thornbill, which also occurs in Tasmania.

Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian 1

Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian

The differences are as follows. The Tasmanian Thornbill:

  • has tan rather than brownish-buff forehead
  • has shorter bill
  • has darker grey breast
  • has mottled rather than streaked breast
  • has buffish rather than whitish edges to flight feathers
  • has white rather than buff flanks
  • has longer tail
  • harsher calls and more disjointed song (otherwise very similar)
  • prefers denser, wetter habitats (we’re getting desperate here)
Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian 2

Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian

The reward? Another tick on your Australian list.

Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) by Ian 3

Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) by Ian

Best wishes
Ian

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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Check the latest website updates:
http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates

Lee’s Addition:

There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked; the one who guards himself stays far from them. Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:5-6 HCSB)

Oh, now Ian is going to make us “work”! But that is how we learn to ID these birds and the others. Sometimes there is such a subtle difference in some of them. May we never get to the place where we don’t want to be challenged.

Here are the Calls of the Tasmanian and Brown Thornbills

Here are the Songs of the Tasmanian and Brown Thornbills

Thornbills are in the Acanthizidae family. Ian has quite a collection of them on his Thornbills & Allies page. This family, Acanthizidae – Australasian Warblers, has 65 species in it. The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 3.1 and 7.5 in (8 and 19 centimetres). They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The smallest species of acanthizid, and indeed the smallest Australian passerine, is the Weebill, the largest is the Pilotbird.

Links:

Ian’s Birdway

xeno-canto Tasmanian Thornbill

xeno-canto Brown Thornbill

Other Ian’s Bird of the Week