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I read somewhere that aristotelis can look just as bleeched as desmarestii, but only in extreme cases. Be interesting to know if you can separate them for sure and what the status of this race in Britain is.
Another for leucistic nominate. The dark belly rules out desmarestii and no taxa has a whitish nape. I'm not sure if a genuine desmarestii has been recorded in the UK.
Another for leucistic nominate. The dark belly rules out desmarestii and no taxa has a whitish nape. I'm not sure if a genuine desmarestii has been recorded in the UK.
According to the link Locostella provided "all [desmarestii] had dark thighs which contrasted
with the pale underparts. While this may be a constant feature on
desmarestii, juveniles of the nominate race can also be very pale below". The same dark/pale contrast does not exist in my second pic so I understand why leucism appears a good option.
The extent of yellow on the bill and bright tarsus (strongly tinged pink) were additional features that stood out (the pic in post 2 seems to just about show the latter feature).
Apparently, bill size is longer in desmarestii although I wasn't able to compare it to nominate Shags as this was the only bird in the area (maybe it's possible to determine bill length relative to head size?)
My concern with it being leucistic or bleached is that the pale areas seem to fit the same areas of the body that would also appear pale in the med race (almost too conventionally to be possible through pure chance).