Possible White-browed/Masked woodswallow hybrid
By Birding-Aus, on October 16th, 2013
Hi, Yesterday 15th of october at Campbell Park (ACT) there was a group of 30+ White-browed and 5 Masked woodswallows in which I found a peculiar bird which I now think is a male White-browed/Masked woodswallow hybrid. The bird was perched quite low together with 2-3 White-browed Woodswallows and I could see it for about 30 seconds. It had bright rufous underparts (like a male White-browed Woodswallow) and a black eye/face/throat mask (like a male Masked Woodswallow). There was a thin white line around the black mask that turned into a thicker white band on its upper chest creating a neat contrast with both black and rufous parts. I only have HANZAB vol. 1 so far – still looking for all the other ones so if you want to sell them contact me in private! – so I couldn’t check whether it mentions Woodswallow hybrids. I therefore turned to the internet – always dangerous, I know! Photo 544204-D at http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=576 displays a bird similar to what I saw yesterday (top bird obviously). I am interested in information about woodswallow hybrids so I turn to experienced Australian birders out there. How common are Woodswallow hybrids? How much variation do they show? Are there confirmed observations of female hybrids? Thanks a lot for your help! Cheers, Vivien Rolland (Viv) ACT =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi Nathan, Thank you so much for posting your message and these references – they are quite interesting indeed! I had a look at the part of “Boom and Bust” by Libby Robin, Robert Heinsohn and Leo Joseph which deals with White-Browed and Masked Woodswallows. I cite page 212 and 213: “Hybridisation, however, has been rarely reported either by direct observation of mixed pairs at nests or from possible hybrid specimens in museum collections. On balance the evidence that they hybridise is tenuous although some low frequency of hybridisation cannot be ruled out. Even more remarkably, in a survey of ecological differences among closely related pairs of bird species in south-eastern Australia, these were the only two that could not be separated at all. And finally, their vocalisations are also essentially indistinguishable. This almost certainly is a unique feature of this pair of birds. I know of no reference to any other pair of bird species as different in appearance as these two are for which it is so hard if not impossible to distinguish vocalisations.” Cheers, Viv On 16/10/2013, at 10:14 PM, Nathan < nrg800@gmail.com> wrote: =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
It seems that in this case HANZAB hasn’t really looked as deep as possible, the Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World (cite) lists the two as “CAONHR [Captive and ongoing natural hybridization reported]”, however the only notes that are added on its appearance were: “One reported hybrid looked exactly like a Masked Wood-swallow, except it had a broad white eyebrow.” The references it cites are: – Avicultural Magazine 1964 (p. 188), ———- 1965 (pp. 116–117) – Barnard, H. G. 1944. Hybrid Wood-Swallows. The Emu, 44: 154; – Boehm, E. F. 1974. Hybridism in wood-swallows. South Australian Ornithologist, 26; 167; – McGill, A. R. 1944. Hybridism in wood-swallows.The Emu, 44: 153–154; – North, A. J. 1909a. Hybrid Wood-Swallow. The Emu, 8: 224, ———1909b. [On a hybrid Wood-Swallow]. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 33: 735. – Sharland, M. 1972. The lure of wood-swallows. Australian Bird Watcher, 4: 213–219. The two 1944 Emu notes are available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/97/issue/4641.htm McGill, as previously mentioned, refers to a diary kept regarding a mated pair, along with a 1909 reference to North’s writing in Emu and the Linnean Society of NSW. The article describes this bird’s appearance as: “It resembles A. superciliosus on the upper parts, has the forehead, lores, cheeks, ear coverts, and throat black, passing into blackish-grey on the fore-neck; remainder of under surfaces ashy-grey with slight vinous wash; under tail coverts pale ashy-grey; over and behind the eye a distinct white eyebrow, but not extending so far onto the side of the crown as in A. superciliosus.” which sounds a lot like a slightly less extreme version of Graeme Chapman’s photograph. PDF copies of these articles are available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/97/issue/4943.htm (Notes and Notices) and http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39831019 though the descriptions are identical. I cannot find an online copy of the Avicultural Magazine, though if you have a spare $9,000 it seems like an interesting buy from Andrew Isles. Boehm says “A hybrid Wood-Swallow which strongly resembled a male A. superciliosus but without the eyebrow, and having a black mask like A. personatus was mist-netted, banded, and weighed east of Sutherlands, S.A., on 8 Oct., 1972. The mask was margined with rufous instead of the usual white margin. Weight of the bird was 38 grammes.” This article in full is available from http://www.birdssa.asn.au/index.php/south-australian-ornithologist-pdf-s?id=116 Finally, since the merging of BOCA and Birds Austrlalia I have been unable to find or access the archives of Australian Field Ornithology (previously the Australian Birdwatcher) so I cannot offer any insight into what Mr. Sharland had to say. The upshot of all of this seems that hybrids between these birds have been reported fairly often, a lot more than lots of species, however it is surprising that there are so few offspring in the two species that are so closely aligned in habits and habitats. ~Nathan Ruser =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi everyone, Thanks for your replies, both on birding-aus and in private. Tonight I decided to go back to the same site to try and find the bird again. I thought it was vain but after 45 min I found it and observed it for longer than yesterday. I even managed to take a few record shots. You can see one here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivienrollandphotography/ The orientation and posture of the bird affects the appearance of the white line around the black mask. It turns out that the white mark is thicker on the sides of the upper chest than it is in its middle. Thank you Mick for pointing out the birding-aus archive thread initiated by Graeme. It turns out that I have “Boom and Bust” but didn’t read it yet. Now I will! Cheers, Viv On 16/10/2013, at 2:36 PM, Nikolas Haass < nhaass@yahoo.com> wrote: =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Ooops, the correct date is ’27th December 2012′. Nikolas —————- Nikolas Haass nhaass@yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ From: Mick Roderick < mickhhb@yahoo.com.au> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 12:24 PM Nikolas … Did you mean “27th December 2012” or did you mean “Raja and I are going to observe a….” 😉 Hi Vivien, Graeme Chapman actually discussed that bird on the link that you posted Vivien, which is available on the Birding-aus archives. See: http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/birding-aus/2012-11/msg00039.html There are some other places for you to research suggested by him as well. I haven’t tracked down the Leo Joseph book that he mentions, but it sounds like a great read. Of interest, HANZAB says that “Evidence of hybridisation equivocal” and goes on to cite some examples where the evidence wasn’t quite strong enough to be unequivocal, one of which was described by McGill when a male White-browed and a female Masked had a nest with eggs but the “pair was collected before the eggs were allowed to hatch”!! I also recall seeing a photo of a potential hybrid taken by someone at…Bowra maybe? See also the link below for another bird very similar to one on Graeme’s website. http://www.mdahlem.net/img/ozbirds/22/mskswal_bh_1050567_big.jpg Mick Sent: Wednesday, 16 October 2013 11:35 AM Hi Vivien, Raja and I observed a White-browed/Masked Woodswallow hybrid 27th December 2013 at Whoey Tank, Round Hill, NSW (Eremaea/Birdline NSW #160543). I am pretty sure that Raja has some pictures of this bird. They are not yet uploaded to the website but we will have a look for them and make them available. Best wishes, Nikolas —————- Nikolas Haass nhaass@yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:18 AM Hi, Yesterday 15th of october at Campbell Park (ACT) there was a group of 30+ White-browed and 5 Masked woodswallows in which I found a peculiar bird which I now think is a male White-browed/Masked woodswallow hybrid. The bird was perched quite low together with 2-3 White-browed Woodswallows and I could see it for about 30 seconds. It had bright rufous underparts (like a male White-browed Woodswallow) and a black eye/face/throat mask (like a male Masked Woodswallow). There was a thin white line around the black mask that turned into a thicker white band on its upper chest creating a neat contrast with both black and rufous parts. I only have HANZAB vol. 1 so far – still looking for all the other ones so if you want to sell them contact me in private! – so I couldn’t check whether it mentions Woodswallow hybrids. I therefore turned to the internet – always dangerous, I know! Photo 544204-D at http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=576displays a bird similar to what I saw yesterday (top bird obviously). I am interested in information about woodswallow hybrids so I turn to experienced Australian birders out there. How common are Woodswallow hybrids? How much variation do they show? Are there confirmed observations of female hybrids? Thanks a lot for your help! Cheers, Vivien Rolland (Viv) ACT =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Nikolas … Did you mean “27th December 2012” or did you mean “Raja and I are going to observe a….” 😉 Hi Vivien, Graeme Chapman actually discussed that bird on the link that you posted Vivien, which is available on the Birding-aus archives. See: http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/birding-aus/2012-11/msg00039.html There are some other places for you to research suggested by him as well. I haven’t tracked down the Leo Joseph book that he mentions, but it sounds like a great read. Of interest, HANZAB says that “Evidence of hybridisation equivocal” and goes on to cite some examples where the evidence wasn’t quite strong enough to be unequivocal, one of which was described by McGill when a male White-browed and a female Masked had a nest with eggs but the “pair was collected before the eggs were allowed to hatch”!! I also recall seeing a photo of a potential hybrid taken by someone at…Bowra maybe? See also the link below for another bird very similar to one on Graeme’s website. http://www.mdahlem.net/img/ozbirds/22/mskswal_bh_1050567_big.jpg Mick ________________________________ From: Nikolas Haass < nhaass@yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, 16 October 2013 11:35 AM Hi Vivien, Raja and I observed a White-browed/Masked Woodswallow hybrid 27th December 2013 at Whoey Tank, Round Hill, NSW (Eremaea/Birdline NSW #160543). I am pretty sure that Raja has some pictures of this bird. They are not yet uploaded to the website but we will have a look for them and make them available. Best wishes, Nikolas —————- Nikolas Haass nhaass@yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:18 AM Hi, Yesterday 15th of october at Campbell Park (ACT) there was a group of 30+ White-browed and 5 Masked woodswallows in which I found a peculiar bird which I now think is a male White-browed/Masked woodswallow hybrid. The bird was perched quite low together with 2-3 White-browed Woodswallows and I could see it for about 30 seconds. It had bright rufous underparts (like a male White-browed Woodswallow) and a black eye/face/throat mask (like a male Masked Woodswallow). There was a thin white line around the black mask that turned into a thicker white band on its upper chest creating a neat contrast with both black and rufous parts. I only have HANZAB vol. 1 so far – still looking for all the other ones so if you want to sell them contact me in private! – so I couldn’t check whether it mentions Woodswallow hybrids. I therefore turned to the internet – always dangerous, I know! Photo 544204-D at http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=576displays a bird similar to what I saw yesterday (top bird obviously). I am interested in information about woodswallow hybrids so I turn to experienced Australian birders out there. How common are Woodswallow hybrids? How much variation do they show? Are there confirmed observations of female hybrids? Thanks a lot for your help! Cheers, Vivien Rolland (Viv) ACT =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org/ =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Hi Vivien, Raja and I observed a White-browed/Masked Woodswallow hybrid 27th December 2013 at Whoey Tank, Round Hill, NSW (Eremaea/Birdline NSW #160543). I am pretty sure that Raja has some pictures of this bird. They are not yet uploaded to the website but we will have a look for them and make them available. Best wishes, Nikolas —————- Nikolas Haass nhaass@yahoo.com Brisbane, QLD ________________________________ From: Vivien Rolland < viv.birding@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:18 AM Hi, Yesterday 15th of october at Campbell Park (ACT) there was a group of 30+ White-browed and 5 Masked woodswallows in which I found a peculiar bird which I now think is a male White-browed/Masked woodswallow hybrid. The bird was perched quite low together with 2-3 White-browed Woodswallows and I could see it for about 30 seconds. It had bright rufous underparts (like a male White-browed Woodswallow) and a black eye/face/throat mask (like a male Masked Woodswallow). There was a thin white line around the black mask that turned into a thicker white band on its upper chest creating a neat contrast with both black and rufous parts. I only have HANZAB vol. 1 so far – still looking for all the other ones so if you want to sell them contact me in private! – so I couldn’t check whether it mentions Woodswallow hybrids. I therefore turned to the internet – always dangerous, I know! Photo 544204-D at http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/viewphotos.php?c=576 displays a bird similar to what I saw yesterday (top bird obviously). I am interested in information about woodswallow hybrids so I turn to experienced Australian birders out there. How common are Woodswallow hybrids? How much variation do they show? Are there confirmed observations of female hybrids? Thanks a lot for your help! Cheers, Vivien Rolland (Viv) ACT =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org =============================== =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================