Cicadabird Identification Challenge

ID challenge 3 January 2021 P Plate by Pamela Keil

I was pretty happy to get this lifer up in Sunshine Coast QLD while I was there in January 2020 for a conference (before Covid shut all such things down). I had a great walk each morning through a residential neighbourhood surrounded by rainforest, and saw many great birds in this tiny little patch that came right up to the road.

Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris by Pamela Keil

Solution:

You were correct if you thought this was an adult male Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris.

This is a bit of a tricky angle to see the ID features, but you can just make out the patterning on the wing. There also aren’t many species in Australia that are the slaty grey underneath, but there are a couple. It would help to be able to see the bill, but you can still tell this is a Cicadabird by its overall shape and the lack of any white on its tail.
This second photo, showing the back of the bird, lets you see the strong black patterning on the wings.

eBird: https://ebird.org/species/cicada1

Learn more/conservation status: Least concern EOL

More information: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Edolisoma-tenuirostre
A record of Cicadabird from WA: https://www.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/394

Published by echidnaw

we're a wildlife IN THE WILD tour operator. Our mission is to ensure the free-living future of Australian wildlife, and to give them a voice. Wild animals have inherent value, as wild creatures, but we need to learn to value them. Good, respectful, sustainable wildlife tourism gives them a value and a voice. View more posts