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What raptor is this then? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter senatore
- Start date
AStevenson
Well-known member
Never seen one in that state before - what a mess - hardly showing the graceful elegance of the species!
bitterntwisted
Graham Howard Shortt
It's a Red Kite with lots of knackered leucistic feathers. The feathers without pigment can be more prone to wear.
martin kitching
Obsessed seawatcher
deborah4
Well-known member
Hi Max
It is a Red Kite as I said originally but it's not a 1cy - I was rather lazy and didn't enlarge the pic - it's obviously in an advanced state of moult! This would rule out a bird from this year (not even sure they've fledged yet have they? but I'm sure some smart alec will advise me
). Nice to see them doing well in Wales - we're getting more in Sussex too (from the original Chiltern population spreading South I believe)
Great photo btw!
martin kitching
Obsessed seawatcher
I hope you corrected them Max
The bird is not an albino, by any stretch of the imagination. The presence of black, grey and dark brown in the plumage, the pale-lemon iris and the bright yellow legs rules out this possibility.For anyone interested there was a very informative paper about colour aberrations in birds, published last year;
van Grouw, H. Not every white bird is an albino: sense and nonsense about colour abberations in birds. Dutch Birding (2006) 28, 2, 79-89
cheers
martin
senatore
Well-known member
Hi Martin,
I didn't correct them because I believed them at the time.This bird is considered a bit of a celebrity at this site because of it's colouring and it is considered to be an albino.However your comments ring true and I'm sure you are correct but I wont tell them!!!!!!.
Max.
I didn't correct them because I believed them at the time.This bird is considered a bit of a celebrity at this site because of it's colouring and it is considered to be an albino.However your comments ring true and I'm sure you are correct but I wont tell them!!!!!!.
Max.
deborah4
Well-known member
Do you know the age of the bird Max? It does look quite pale (not albino!) and just wandered if it's pigmentation effects the moult/feather wear
martin kitching
Obsessed seawatcher
As the bird has feathers from more than one generation, and the outermost primaries appear to be retained juvenile feathers then it's probably a 2cy bird (definitely not 1cy/fledgling). It's tagged so if someone has read the tags then it should be possible to find out exactly how old and where it came from.
cheers
martin
cheers
martin
The Raptor
Bristol City's No.1 Fan!
This red kite appears to be the white one, I saw it last year at Gigrin. I believe that the black tag on the left wing means it hatched in Wales, the right wing tag is either red or orange, difficult to tell from this photo, red wing tag means bird hatched in 2003 & orange in 2005, these identity tags however may be from the other red kite feeding station near Aberystwyth & not sure if this applies with Gigrin.
ROD.
ROD.
