This evening I had good views of a male Marbled Frogmouth near my home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It got me thinking of problems than can arise with separating this species from Tawny Frogmouth in the field. Although their calls are very different, and most frogmouths are quickly identifiable if seen well, some individuals can be problematic. A couple of weeks ago I saw a frogmouth in the company of some interstate birders which I identified initially as a Tawny, then a Marbled, and later we agreed it was back to Tawny. This bird was very close to where I saw tonight’s Marbled and in similar rainforest edge habitat. The two species are of similar size and can share similar habitat, although Tawny is unusual deep inside rainforest. The male Marbled also shares the Tawny’s general greyish colouration (the female Marbled is much browner) and the two species have fine black streaking on the underparts. The Tawny referred to here had some classic fieldguide Marbled features – deep orange eyes, barred and extended plumes above the bill and a broad pale supercilium – hence the confusion. A key feature is pale blotching on the underparts of Marbled, obvious on the bird tonight but not always so unless it is close. Tawny appears to be more streaked on the upperparts, especially about the head, while the supercilium on Marbled appears to be more sharply defined. In the spotlight with frogmouths and nightjars, however, all these features can potentially be a little wobbly. The lesson here is to be wary of the fieldguides. Also tonight were Southern Boobook, Owlet-Nightjar and an albino Greater Glider. Greg Roberts ===============================
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