dantheman
Bah humbug
Just drawing attention to a few things which have cropped up from this thread - Night Parrots in Oz
Whilst the id seems to be safe, there are a few issues relating to feather topography and the like which could be well addressed from this subforum, not everyone reads the rare birds subforum, some further expert or informed input would be appreciated from those who know their feathers and are used to searching the net for images ...
Basically, there are a couple of photos of a bird out there in the public domain which appear to show a living Night Parrot, a bird which had previously barely been seen alive for over 100 years, certainly never photographed in that time.
The first photo below shows the two images as they appear on a few websites and in a newspaper article.
The second photo shows one of the images reversed so they both face the same way.
The third photo is a better quality image of one of the two images.
A few points which it would be good to receive clarification on are -
a) Is only one side of the bird being shown, or do we have both sides of a bird?
b) Do cryptically marked birds such as this exhibit symmetrical markings, or is it random left/right side?
c) Are the feathers along the breast on one photo the drooping alula, or something else (eg the other wing, broken). If so can photos be found showing passerines or parrots showing the alula this prominently?
d) Should the wing from the other side be showing?
e) Photo presumably taken with flash - how does this affect things?
f) Anything else which seems a bit odd about the photos?
Thoughts much appreciated
Cheers Dan
Whilst the id seems to be safe, there are a few issues relating to feather topography and the like which could be well addressed from this subforum, not everyone reads the rare birds subforum, some further expert or informed input would be appreciated from those who know their feathers and are used to searching the net for images ...
Basically, there are a couple of photos of a bird out there in the public domain which appear to show a living Night Parrot, a bird which had previously barely been seen alive for over 100 years, certainly never photographed in that time.
The first photo below shows the two images as they appear on a few websites and in a newspaper article.
The second photo shows one of the images reversed so they both face the same way.
The third photo is a better quality image of one of the two images.
A few points which it would be good to receive clarification on are -
a) Is only one side of the bird being shown, or do we have both sides of a bird?
b) Do cryptically marked birds such as this exhibit symmetrical markings, or is it random left/right side?
c) Are the feathers along the breast on one photo the drooping alula, or something else (eg the other wing, broken). If so can photos be found showing passerines or parrots showing the alula this prominently?
d) Should the wing from the other side be showing?
e) Photo presumably taken with flash - how does this affect things?
f) Anything else which seems a bit odd about the photos?
Thoughts much appreciated
Cheers Dan
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