I saw this little bird flitting along branches and amongst the foliage in the tree'd area at one of our local wetlands today. At first I thought it was a Pardalote, but the beak is too long. Its head was speckled black and white. Its voice was a rapid tinkling sound.
It's a bird with black bill and soft belly.
Mrs Ed, your bird identification skills never cease to amaze me. Thank you.
My pleasure! ;-)
Well, bearing in mind that I have never seen these birds, and am going only from a plate and description in a field guide...
One thing (the only thing) that seems at odds is that Yellow-Rumped Thornbill should have a pale eye, while the photo appears to show a dark eye... Did it seem to have a pale eye when you saw it?
Alta, thanks for your response. The bird was high above my head and constantly moving. I couldn't say if its eye was dark or pale. The shot was not very good and I had to play with it with an editing programme. It was virtually a point and shoot with a 420mm lens.
Mr.s Ed, you do just astound us!
Awww shucks. I try!
Margaret, I think you are right that it is a Yellow-rumped Thornbill. Your picture clearly shows the black crown to the head with white speckles on it, which is a feature of that bird. The eye is in too much shadow to see its colour.
Kennedy
Thanks, Kennedy. I'll head back over to the site, now that I know they're there and try to get some decent shots.
