The Black Butcherbirds here at Kuranda also have rufous young which change gradually to black, and personally I doubt the existence of a rufous morph as such, I suspect it’s one of those things that gets into the literature and then stays there. It is possible they might breed in subadult plumage I suppose, but I would expect them to moult into black plumage later. Phil Gregory Website 1: Http://www.sicklebillsafaris.com Website 2: Http://www.cassowary-house.com.au
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that’s also my understanding as well Phil from what I’ve seen here & read from others too… I suspect the immature plumage being rufous moults into the totally black of the adult plumage after an=bout 12 months. cheers, martin cachard, cairns
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Thanks. According to what I read, this race has both black and rufous juveniles, often with both types of young in the same nest. All other races have black juveniles. Is this not true? Are all juveniles of this race always rufous? Sent from my iPad
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