need help with ID please (Oahu) (1 Viewer)

i saw this bird in the bushes here on Oahu, and managed to get 1 shot. i know not the best photo, but is it enough for an ID? i think it might be an Oahu Elepaio. thanks.

Juvenile Wren?

Foggin could be right.

michihir0 said:

i saw this bird in the bushes here on Oahu, and managed to get 1 shot. i know not the best photo, but is it enough for an ID? i think it might be an Oahu Elepaio. thanks.

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Looking at the bird and specially its beak it does appear to be a juvrnile wren.

thank you very much. the elepaio are very wren like... but the beak is totally different. i dunno how i missed that. guess because i haven't seen one of these here before. thanks again.

While I certainly do understand both the suggestions the tail is a good indication of the true ID: It's a juv. White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus). BTW, as far as I know no species of Wren has ever been recorded on Hawaii.

Good to see you back posting again Rasmus :t:

Bird ID.

Rasmus Boegh said:

While I certainly do understand both the suggestions the tail is a good indication of the true ID: It's a juv. White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus). BTW, as far as I know no species of Wren has ever been recorded on Hawaii.

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Mr. Ransus Boegh,

I'm confused now.The ID you've quoted as a Juvenile Shama ( Copsychus malabaricus), is found in India too. Its a close relative of the Magpie robin (Copsychus saularis), the difference being in with a longer tail.and brown underparts in place of white in a magpie robin.Maybe its a juvenile female Shama.I'm not sure.

ragoorao said:

Mr. Ransus Boegh,

I'm confused now.The ID you've quoted as a Juvenile Shama ( Copsychus malabaricus), is found in India too. Its a close relative of the Magpie robin (Copsychus saularis), the difference being in with a longer tail.and brown underparts in place of white in a magpie robin.Maybe its a juvenile female Shama.I'm not sure.

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Mr. ragoorao,

The bird you have in India and the bird on Hawaii is exactly the same species. It is natural in India (and a large part of SE Asia) but introduced to Hawaii. The bird on the photo is a perfectly normal young individual - their tail is far shorter than in adults (and the tail seem even shorter from this angle). If it is even younger than what normally is classified as a juvenile is an open question I will refrain from commenting on. I have no doubts on the ID and have seen loads in SE Asia. There is nothing else on Hawaii that - taking all features visible on the photo into account - is similar. There have actually been attempts of introducing the Oriental Magpie Robin to some islands in Hawaii several decades ago (specifically on Kauai and Oahu), but none were successfull. They've got enough introduced species already, they don't need any more! If both species had been introduced successfully to Hawaii an ID from the angle presented on the initial photo would have been far harder to reach. The rather "bright" brownish underparts support White-rumped Shama, though the underparts of both species are rather variable at this stage as clearly can be seen on the following photo (on average the underparts are more white/grey/black and less rufous/buff in the juv. Magpie Robin).

For comparison with the photo in the thread-starter here are a bunch of White-rumped labeled as "chicks":

http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/s...esult&Bird_ID=2560&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1

A somewhat older individual (the first one is from Hawaii, too):

1) http://pbin.nbii.gov/introducedbirds/pages/Shama Thrush (Juvenile).html
2) http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/picpages/pic142-183-8.html

... and just for the record, an adult male in all his splendour followed by a female presumably carrying nesting material:

1) http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/s...esult&Bird_ID=2560&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1
2) http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/s...esult&Bird_ID=2560&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1