• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

ID please Cape Town - South Africa (2 Viewers)

MrSmith

Member
Hi

I can't work out what this is, I have seen this bird a couple of times in the last week in Camps Bay, Cape Town. The water in the background is the Atlantic Ocean.

Today is the first time I managed to get a few pictures, sorry they are not great the light was not good, very overcast and taken holding camera to the eyepiece of my scope and then binos.

Any ideas?
 

Attachments

  • P1020343.jpg
    P1020343.jpg
    148.2 KB · Views: 137
  • P1020349.jpg
    P1020349.jpg
    108.5 KB · Views: 113
  • P1020354.jpg
    P1020354.jpg
    129.1 KB · Views: 123
  • P1020355.jpg
    P1020355.jpg
    134.8 KB · Views: 130
  • P1020359.jpg
    P1020359.jpg
    130.1 KB · Views: 121
Reminds me of a juvenile egyptian vulture, even though I am not positive

Niels
Egyptian do not have yellow iris, also this bird prey has a very long crest and barred flight feathers, I only can think about Long-crested Eagle, but one with big problems having lost all the feathers in the face, strange, very strange :eek!:
 
Hi Tom, if you look at third image the bill looks too weak for an eagle, at least to my mind ...

Niels
 
Hi Tom, if you look at third image the bill looks too weak for an eagle, at least to my mind ...

Niels

agree, it looks tiny like an Egyptian, but this guy has feathered tarsi and Long-crested is a small eagle, maybe it lost its hook when loosing all these feathers, as I said
strange, strange...
 
Long-crested Eagle is the only option surely...albeit one with severe feather loss around the face! Weird looking thing for sure!
 
A local expert just emailed me the following response after the photos were email to him:

This bird is a very young African Harrier Hawk (aka Gymnogene). Judging by the plumage, I don’t think it left the nest all that long ago... One doesn’t get to see photos of birds this young out in the field, so to speak, all that often.

Thanks guys.
 
A local expert just emailed me the following response after the photos were email to him:

Quote:

This bird is a very young African Harrier Hawk (aka Gymnogene). Judging by the plumage, I don’t think it left the nest all that long ago... One doesn’t get to see photos of birds this young out in the field, so to speak, all that often.


Thanks guys.

Hi again
I have a few questions for the local expert

when does the iris color change from bright yellow to brownish as shown on all available pictures of young and very young gymnogenes?
when do these very young gymnogenes loose their tarsal feathering and finally look like normal gymnogenes of any age with long, no very long bare tarsi?
And why does this very young gymnogene not show large pale feather edges on upperwing as they usually do?

Maybe you should ask a second opinion from another local expert :smoke:
 
Hi again
I have a few questions for the local expert

when does the iris color change from bright yellow to brownish as shown on all available pictures of young and very young gymnogenes?
when do these very young gymnogenes loose their tarsal feathering and finally look like normal gymnogenes of any age with long, no very long bare tarsi?
And why does this very young gymnogene not show large pale feather edges on upperwing as they usually do?

Maybe you should ask a second opinion from another local expert :smoke:

Although I initially suggested Gymnogene, I fully agree with Tom that the factors he mentioned do not support this species. However, a long-crested is out of range in Capetown, although this is off course possible. I would like to hear the opinion of some other local experts.

Douwe
 
I'm neither local or expert but a number of birds I've seen with bill deformities and feather loss have either been released from or escaped from captivity. Is this feasible for this species do you know?
 
I'm neither local or expert but a number of birds I've seen with bill deformities and feather loss have either been released from or escaped from captivity. Is this feasible for this species do you know?

yes indeed good question, it would explain the feather loss, the hook loss and the occurrence outside the range, so are raptors kept in captivity (legally or illegally) in ZA?
 
yes indeed good question, it would explain the feather loss, the hook loss and the occurrence outside the range, so are raptors kept in captivity (legally or illegally) in ZA?

And would it open up for the possibility of a species from outside Africa? (not that I know what that would be)

Niels
 
The local consensus (I have been in email contact with a few local experts) seems to be that it is a Long Crested Eagle and possibly recently escaped from http://www.worldofbirds.org.za/index.php.
The Long Crested Eagle that they lost recently had arrived with them in a damaged condition.
I took many photos of the bird today and will post more pictures as soon as I have selected a few and resized them.
 
I managed to get some closer pics yesterday afternoon.

In flight and overview:
 

Attachments

  • P1020366.jpg
    P1020366.jpg
    95.9 KB · Views: 70
  • P1020379.jpg
    P1020379.jpg
    190.7 KB · Views: 69
  • P1020380.jpg
    P1020380.jpg
    170.6 KB · Views: 82
  • P1020413.jpg
    P1020413.jpg
    203.9 KB · Views: 73
  • P1040442.jpg
    P1040442.jpg
    223.2 KB · Views: 70
Head and tail:
 

Attachments

  • P1020496.jpg
    P1020496.jpg
    75.8 KB · Views: 70
  • P1020465.jpg
    P1020465.jpg
    77.5 KB · Views: 63
  • P1020385.jpg
    P1020385.jpg
    42.5 KB · Views: 81
  • P1020410.jpg
    P1020410.jpg
    107 KB · Views: 80
  • P1020461.jpg
    P1020461.jpg
    72.8 KB · Views: 85
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top