may i consult you again on this bird previously posted on 23rd September (pic 5) http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=351006
Lou identified it as Eleonora's falcon. Tom confirmed it as a 2nd cy dark morph, but added : > the head is still juvenile and bleached, in fact everything is wrong compared to normal adult plumage
i could not make sense of the F. eleonorae id. the bird i saw was about buzzard size, of ample proportions.
a friend suggested Saker, and kindly enhanced the photo for me. the feet look blue, and there seems to be more barring in the primaries, with the secondaries greyer and plainer. could it possibly have been an immature Saker falcon, Falco cherrug?
they are rarely seen here, but their presence in southern Italy is known, either in passage or overwintering.
Lou identified it as Eleonora's falcon. Tom confirmed it as a 2nd cy dark morph, but added : > the head is still juvenile and bleached, in fact everything is wrong compared to normal adult plumage
i could not make sense of the F. eleonorae id. the bird i saw was about buzzard size, of ample proportions.
a friend suggested Saker, and kindly enhanced the photo for me. the feet look blue, and there seems to be more barring in the primaries, with the secondaries greyer and plainer. could it possibly have been an immature Saker falcon, Falco cherrug?
they are rarely seen here, but their presence in southern Italy is known, either in passage or overwintering.