Honey buzzards, Marettimo Sicily (1 Viewer)

[Kinthissa]

The 7th was Honey buzzard day for September, my companion counted many hundreds

please would you check these individuals?

1. there are several shots of this adult (male?) with transparent inner primaries, have they worn thin?
2. adult, eyes fixed on Cap Bon, male or female? fingers look ink-dipped but patterning extends to the hands?
3. a juvenile?
4. juvenile? tail barring ok for that?
5. male, with hardly any markings on the body?

 

[tconzemi]

1. many females show these transparent inner primaries (lighter coloured upperwing window on inner primaries), barring suggests older female with some male feautures
2. another adult female in my opinion showing some male characters but barring and rather brownish cheecks better for female (see photoshopped pic below)
3. adult female
4. adult female
5. yes nice light adult male, quite common morph

Some adult HB are really hard to sex

 

[lou salomon]

2. another adult female in my opinion showing some male characters but barring and rather brownish cheecks better for female (see photoshopped pic below)

fingers are dipped in ink and head is greyish. i'd have called it a male.

 

[Kinthissa]

fingers are dipped in ink and head is greyish. i'd have called it a male.

what about the proportions, Lou?

my instinctive feel was : "HB female, eyes intent on Cap Bon", then today i questioned the sex

 

[Kinthissa]

... barring suggests older female with some male feautures
...
Some adult HB are really hard to sex

Thank you, Tom, many interesting points and thank you for photoshopped image. i've been looking through more photos from the 7th and see a number of individuals with clear-cut dark tips to primaries but without the clear hand of males

a query on no.3 : what features tell you this is an adult? i thought the irregularity in primaries of right wing could be from an accident, but you must be going on factors i'm not seeing

no.4 : i was just going on the perfect-looking feathering. i have to keep in mind that not all adults show signs of moult! would the coverts be not so clearly marked in a juvenile? and there would be more patterning inside the trailing edge? in any case, there are no bulging dark secondaries