Hi all,
Just in case you were not aware, there are some new
pics of the controversial curlew sp at Minsmere online
at
http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery9
.
Unlike previous pics, these are sharp, and allow
more detail to be seen...and what CAN be seen is
uninspiring: in my opinion, this bird is a small male
Eurasian Curlew. The ground colour of the breast of
Slender-billed is always whitish from what I can
gather, even when looking at photos of specimens of
juv/1st-w birds: the ground colour of this bird's
breast is brownish-buff, as in Eurasian. Details like
bill structure etc also disappoint, as one would
expect structural differences to hold true whatever
age the bird was...indeed, juveniles should have a
SHORTER bill than adults, yet this bird has been
called a female to explain the long bill!
May I qualify the above by stating that I have never
seen Slender-billed Curlew anywhere, and am unlikely
to now, so I could be wrong (it wouldn't be the first
time).
Harry