ID CHALLENGE 13 July 2020: P Plater by Janine Duffy
Who is this little cutie? Seen at Kings Billabong, near Mildura VIC in March.
Size: small Behaviour: first seen in tops of trees, but these photos taken at the edge of the billabong amongst rushes.
I’ve marked this as a P Plater as there’s a few things here that are out of the ordinary.
Solution:
Striped Honeyeater Plectorhyncha lanceolata
If you saw this bird in the treetops, fluttering amongst the flowers, you would immediately recognise it as a honeyeater. And then it would be easy.
But to see her near the ground, with tail up, makes it really confusing. Most birds at some time move out of their niche. In this case it was to have a drink.
True, her beak isn’t particularly long and curved, but plenty of honeyeaters don’t have that feature (think White-plumed, Yellow-faced, Black-headed & Gilbert’s, and Grey Honeyeater), and they are a large group with a huge range of sizes and shapes. But true to honeyeater form, she is coloured in black white and brown. She has a long tail, slim body and small head.
These birds are a bit nomadic in the arid zone. I don’t think they are always at Kings Billabong, but this time they were very numerous.
Women Birders Australia 