Female Golden Whistler assuming male characters

When we were banding birds along the Orara River Coutts Crossing on April 26 Jan Patterson caught two Golden Whistlers among other birds. Both had been banded at the site on 26 May 2012. Both were in the grey ‘female’ plumage when banded and both had some yellow feathers on underparts and one had some black feathers around the eye. This bird was in full adult male plumage when retrapped but the other bird still had the same plumage as when banded. If it was a male it would have assumed full adult male plumage at the time of being retrapped so this bird was, almost certainly, an adult female. It has been known for some time that adult female Golden Whistlers may have some yellow marking on their underparts. This assumption of male characters by old female birds is apparently known in other species such as the Domestic Fowl and is apparently due to the deterioration of the gonads. There are photos of this bird along with a report on the banding on my blog at: http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ . I have also published a post on observing and photographing a Powerful Owl at the Coffs Harbour Botanical Gardens. Regards Greg Dr Greg. P. Clancy Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide | PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460 | 02 6649 3153 | 0429 601 960 http://www.gregclancyecologistguide.com http://gregswildliferamblings.blogspot.com.au/ _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org