Help with ID of Passeriforme mounted skin (1 Viewer)

[H.Clarke1990]

Hi,

I hope that this is OK to post. I work in a Natural History Museum, and am looking for an ID for a small taxidermy passerine bird (see images attached).

It has a black crown with some black along the shoulder, light grey breast and underside and dark olive green/ brown rump and wing bar.

We have species from all over the world in our collection, including a large collection of South American and Asian birds, and so I'm not sure whether this is a species from these regions...

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Welcome to BirdForum (from probably very nearby). Your bird looks a bit like a bulbul of some kind, but I'm not totally sure about that.

 

[James Lowther]

looks a bit like black-headed honeyeater. But,.. not quite right
James

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

looks a bit like black-headed honeyeater. But,.. not quite right
James

Yes, I just twigged it's probably a Melithreptus honeyeater of some kind. Black-headed may be the most plausible.

 

[H.Clarke1990]

Hi Andrew and James,

Thank you so much for your fast response and ID!

Now looking more closely at the bird, and with your guidance, I am pretty sure that it is a Black-headed Honeyeater. The beak is exactly right and the black 'bar' that curves around the shoulder from the nape is present. There is also the extra skin around the eye, which would have originally appeared white.

I'm sure that the breast was originally white too, but just appears grey as it is an old specimen, and most likely requires a good clean. Most of our specimens are from the 19th Century, so its age wouldn't surprise me.

Thanks again for your help with this one!

I hope that it is OK to use the forum again in the future for similar cases, where I might be struggling with an ID?

Hannah

 

[James Lowther]

Hi Hannah,
I don't think there are any objections to using this forum for identifying museum specimens.
However, i'm not as convinced by my ID as you are! There's a lot of good points, but for example the shape of the bare patch round the eye is wrong. I'd be happier if someone else, maybe an Australian, would confirm the ID.
cheers,
James

 

[Mark Lew1s]

I'd be happy to see more posts from this collection (presumably the Zoology dept.?) - particularly as I spent some time (about 25 years ago now...) trying to identify some unlabeled specimens from there!

 

[H.Clarke1990]

Hi Mark,

Indeed, this is a bird from the Zoology Museum. I have come across a lot of your ID's recently, whilst working with the mounted bird collection! This is actually one that you noted as 'unidentified', and I also drew a blank on it.

I agree James, it'd be good if someone more familiar with the species could confirm... but i'm glad that we have a starting point.

Thanks Again,

Hannah

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Hi Mark,

Indeed, this is a bird from the Zoology Museum. I have come across a lot of your ID's recently, whilst working with the mounted bird collection! This is actually one that you noted as 'unidentified', and I also drew a blank on it.

I agree James, it'd be good if someone more familiar with the species could confirm... but i'm glad that we have a starting point.

Thanks Again,

Hannah

Hope you haven't had to correct to many of mine!

 

[sicklebill]

I would agree with Black-headed Honeyeater, albeit very faded and worn, the pattern is right, the short slightly decurved bill and the dull greenish upperparts all fit. Any idea of how old is the specimen?

 

[H.Clarke1990]

Hi Sicklebill,

Thanks for confirming this. Unfortunately we don't have any provenance for this bird, but it is more than likely that it entered the collections in the late 19th to early 20th Century along with most of our birds. We do have earlier specimens C. 1800 - 1850's from collectors such as William MacGillivray, but these tended to be study skins as opposed to mounts.

Thanks,

Hannah