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Possible Caspian Plover in Texas. 1st for North America if accepted. (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
It's all immaterial anyway:the bird is an aberrant golden plover sp.,probably American Golden Plover!
Harry
 
If it is an AGP, it is very aberrant indeed!

I'm wondering, what chance a hybrid of some sort? Maybe AGP x Semipalmated Plover or Mountain Plover? The plumage does seem to show quite a few Charadrius characteristics

Michael
 
i agree with harry as i put in my email reply yesterday.
when you look at one of the main features, the very prominent
supercilium plus other markings in colins bird-guide it can only be
american golden plover but thats only my opinion.
bert.
 
i dont think its agp. its too long legged, and its face and chest markings are all wrong. however, i have only seen agp twice, and never seen caspian, so i am not an expert. its definately not a wallcreeper however!
 
The leg colouration is wrong for AGP,&the primaries dont look right on AGP they cross over giving a scissor like effect.The bill looks to long as well.It would have to be a very abberant AGP not to have any spangling effect on the wings.
 
malky
better pics than colins guide, but stiking with 1st choice.
bert
 
always willing to listen and learn, we are never to old.
good on ya bert.
 
I have to agree with those who put this bird in the American Golden Plover camp. For me there are too mant AGP features which cancel out any Caspian Plover criteria.

The bill is too thick and not quite long enough for Caspian Plover.

The white above the bill is too restricted for Caspian Plover, whilst the flaring behind the eye is good for AGP

The legs are too short for Caspian Plover. The whole shape and structure of the bird is spot on for a pluvaris but not correct at all for a charadrius

The tail is barred. Caspian Plover has a solid brown tail with a white terminal fringe. This feature alone rules out Caspian.

I think it's the breast band which is convincing some that this is a Caspian, but we have had odd looking dark AGP's over here in the past. I suspect that this bird is a first year which normally stays down in Argentina so that not many people get to see them in this plumage

Darrell
 
malky hope your well.
the only things that protrude are the toes in flight, colins guide
p133-c.p. p135g. p. no protuding.
bert.
 
Mantle and tertials too plain, legs too long, white shaft to P1 too apparent, protruding toes not right, breast 'all-wrong' and too much white at the base of the inner-primaries (giving a clear wing bar) for American GP.
There are several things against Caspian so far as I can see; the 'weight' of the bill, tail pattern and the leg colour.
It actually reminded me more of a Lesser Sandplover in 'jizz', but the tail pattern is completely wrong. Sorry, I can't come up with a positive i.d., but the hybrid theory (between what?) is just too bizarre to contemplate and used too often to excuse our inability to establish a bird's 'credentials' beyond doubt.
 
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