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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

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Golden-headed Cisticola

Golden-headed Cisticola (Image ID 45415)
Photographed byMichael Hamel-Green on Tue 16th Mar, 2021 and uploaded on Sat 20th Mar, 2021 .
Resolution1400x930
Viewed286
ID45415
CommentAs I was walking back from the Little River Bird Hide, this diminutive Golden-headed Cisticola suddenly arrived on reeds close to the saline wetland near the hide. They are often found near creeks and wetlands. This one has the yellow tinged underparts of a juvenile. They are also called “Tailor Birds” for for their skill in making beautiful domed nests out of spider webs and plant fibres. As Tim Low explains, they use the cobwebs to “draw leaves together to hide their inner nest” (Where Song Began, p.79). The Australian Bird Guide says that, out of breeding season, they tend to be “quiet and unobtrusive, mainly foraging within dense grass or on ground”. In 1848, our celebrated early pioneer of Australian bird study and illustration, John Gould, similarly noted: ”It is very retiring in its habits, generally creeping among the grasses, and will almost admit of being trodden on before it will rise” (The Birds of Australia, Australian National Library). So I should consider myself lucky that I was able to see it at all! But then that is part of the pleasure of bird watching…the unexpected encounters that can and do happen, especially when you are paying attention to the slightest sound or movement. One moment of rest and reconnaissance for a mercurial Golden-Headed Cisticola as it clutches onto a reed; one 1/6400th moment of joy and discovery for a Bald-Headed Twitcher (ssp bird photographer) as he clutches onto his monopod. Each to their own moments.
EquipmentNikonZ7ii Nikon 300mm f4 PF TC1.4 420mm ISO 1000 1/6400th f8 Monopod
LocationWerribee Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria
Keywordsjuvenile
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