Northern Black Horhaan (1 Viewer)

[Rasmus Boegh]

The second photo in the first thread shows a male Northern Black Korhan. Note the white in the primaries, typical of this species, but not found in Southern. Also note the massive white patch below on wing, also a feature typical of Northern, but not found in Southern.

Also remember that they have virtually non-overlapping ranges.

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

Leon,
as Steve I think those are 2 different birds on your photos. For the second pic I am convinced that your ID as White quilled bustard is correct.
But look at the undersides of the wing: in the first picture the primaries are black from beneath and there is white in the secondaries; whereas the bustard has white in the primaries and all-black secondaries.

Steve; I don´t have any book here at work, so all I say here is just input fron the lil´old brain...I agree that bill colour seems to be wrong- but I will check on this.
(I don´t know who put it into another genus; but I think it is Hoplopterus in one of my older German books, though you are very likely right with Vanellus...)

Joern

 

[leon]

I'd promiss you (and that surely isn't something I do often!) that it's a Lapwing. I'd go even further and say that I am 100% sure it's a Crowned Lapwing. Nothing else in Africa looks like the photo. The first photo is a bit of a cheater (but it shows perfectly in the first photo in the later thread), where the underparts appear black, probably due to light.

O dear, now i am going to hang myself. Plovers just dont have the behavour of this bird. If you read the behavour of the Korhaan on the Sasol birdguide website it is an exact fit. I could have mistaken one picture maybe, but I was there for a few hours after these birds.

http://www.birdlife.org.za/fieldguide/book/species_info.cfm?id=37

 

[cuckooroller]

Joern,
We have taken turns here being wrong. If the halo was visible there wouldn't have been any problems, but it isn't, at least, on my LCD monitor even if I stand up and look down on it.

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

Leon, also note the somewhat pointed wings, very unlike any Korhaan & Bustards which have more rounded wings (as obvious on the other pics that do show a Korhaan)

 

[leon]

Leon,
as Steve I think those are 2 different birds on your photos. For the second pic I am convinced that your ID as White quilled bustard is correct.
But look at the undersides of the wing: in the first picture the primaries are black from beneath and there is white in the secondaries; whereas the bustard has white in the primaries and all-black secondaries.

Steve; I don´t have any book here at work, so all I say here is just input fron the lil´old brain...I agree that bill colour seems to be wrong- but I will check on this.
(I don´t know who put it into another genus; but I think it is Hoplopterus in one of my older German books, though you are very likely right with Vanellus...)

Joern

Ok I see the differences, From what I see now the first picture in the initial mail and the first picture in the subsequent images are most probably a plover. The second image in the initial mail, and the 2 and 3rd images in the subsequent mail appear to be bustards.

Sigh, I have a lot to learn. I got too excited taking the pictures to take care in IDing the birds correctly.

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

If there's any confusion going on...

Pic. 1 in thread 1: Crowned Lapwing.
Pic. 2 in thread 1: Northern Black Korhaan

Pic. 1 in thread 11: Crowned Lapwing
Pic. 2 in thread 11: I have a hard time judging the amount on white on the wing... A simple note on where the photo was taken would be enough. Whatever the case, either a Northern or a Southern Korhaan
Pic. 3 in thread 11: I have a hard time judging the amount on white on the wing... A simple note on where the photo was taken would be enough. Whatever the case, either a Northern or a Southern Korhaan

 

[leon]

If there's any confusion going on...

Pic. 1 in thread 1: Crowned Lapwing.
Pic. 2 in thread 1: Northern Black Korhaan

Pic. 1 in thread 11: Crowned Lapwing
Pic. 2 in thread 11: I have a hard time judging the amount on white on the wing... A simple note on where the photo was taken would be enough.
Pic. 3 in thread 11: I have a hard time judging the amount on white on the wing... A simple note on where the photo was taken would be enough.

All the pictures were taken on farm close to Potchefstroom (100 - 150Km) West of Johannesburg South Africa.

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

I've been looking at the photos again, and even without your info on site (though that supports it aswell) both the bird on pic. 2 in thread 11 & pic. 3 in thread 11 are Northern Black Korhaan (=White-quilled Bustard = White-winged Black Korhaan... or easier in latin: Eupodotis afraoides)

Nice birds :t: I remember how happy I was when I saw my first...

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

If the halo was visible there wouldn't have been any problems, but it isn't, at least, on my LCD monitor even if I stand up and look down on it.

...actually, just took another look at the very first photo, and (at least on my monitor) it does seem to show a very slight hint of the light crown, could be my immagination, though! Well, crown or not, the id is rather clear anyways.

 

[cuckooroller]

...actually, just took another look at the very first photo, and (at least on my monitor) it does seem to show a very slight hint of the light crown, could be my immagination, though! Well, crown or not, the id is rather clear anyways.

Rasmus,
I looked at it again, but I had already looked at it pretty hard the first time, and just can't see really anything that I could definitely impute to be a part of white halo and something not due to the photo itself (I'm speaking of the apparent lightening of the demarcation line of the top of the crown against the sky). But, you are right, in retrospect, it should have been an easy ID, and this certainly isn't the first time that I've managed to talk myself out of one, and I imagine that it won't be the last. No one ever said that bird identification was easy, but, it is just this inherent difficulty that renders it such a fascinating past-time.

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

Well, I have the advantage of having seen the three Vanellus-species mentioned in this thread. That makes it quite a bit easier...

I wont even mention some of the (sometimes terrible) mis-id's I've made. - And yes, I'm quite sure I haven't made my last one...

 

[Jane Turner]

well that's clear... how do I index this one chaps

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

Jane,

Guess you'd need two... one for the Lapwing and a second for the Korhaan (which is, if there should be any doubts, a bustard)...

Two new ones for the ever increasing id-list...

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

That shows again that a species that should be easy can be difficult in a photograph. No halo visible on my monitor...
otherwise I might have got the right lapwing--or perhaps not...

nice photos by the way , Leon