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  1. C

    Howard and Moore 4th edition - Passerines

    Olsson et al. directly propose the treatment that has been adapted by e.g. IOC (except that they don't comment on the status of intensior). Päckert et al. agree with this, except that they question the validity of hainanus as a species (but also write that further studies are required to clarify...
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    Howard and Moore 4th edition - Passerines

    Thanks! Yes, probably too late, but I still don't see the point in lumping a pretty distinctively looking and parapatric (if not sympatric) taxon just based on a study of the mtDNA of a single individual (as in the paper by Päckert). Wang et al confirmed the mtDNA similarity using a larger...
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    Howard and Moore 4th edition - Passerines

    IMO here the authors jumped to the gun a bit too quickly… In the most recent study by Wang et al, which is much more thorough than that of Päckert et al, the two taxa (Sooty and Black-browed Tit) are referred to as different species, with the differences in nuclear DNA being clearly larger than...
  4. C

    Sichuan Birding

    I'm thinking Kloss's Leaf Warbler. It's a first summer male White-bellied Redstart, compare with this: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=9&Bird_ID=2607&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1 It's a Baikal Bush Warbler, a split from Spotted Bush Warbler (which also occurs in the region). Yes...
  5. C

    Falcon ID

    Experienced birdwatchers seem to have really differing opinions regarding the id of this falcon... To me it is a Hobby, and I have tried to motivate my opinion in the attached picture.
  6. C

    Galveston Texas bird

    The flying bird in the third photo in post #8 looks like a Dunlin to me. All other birds look like Black-bellied Plovers.
  7. C

    Indian spotted eagle

    Based on tens of trips, Finnish birdwatchers have found that juvenile Indian Spotted Eagles winter commonly in Goa (but probably not older individuals). Steppe Eagle, on the other hand, is quite scarce. An identification article in Alula 2/2004 contains numerous photos of first winter Indian...
  8. C

    Redstart subspecies or hybrid? Central Lithuania.

    Hi Magnus, you are probably right. Here's a juvenile from Sichuan showing quite pale edges to the tertials and secondaries (the paleness may be enhanced by the light): http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=36&Bird_ID=2596&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1 Here's a bird labeled as adult female...
  9. C

    Redstart subspecies or hybrid? Central Lithuania.

    Thanks for the link, I wasn't aware of the other thread. Although separating an eastern Black Redstart from a hybrid is extremely difficult (if not impossible), I believe that the almost simultaneous appearence of three birds to different parts of Sweden in late October would favour eastern origin.
  10. C

    Redstart subspecies or hybrid? Central Lithuania.

    I wonder if it might not be an eastern (phoenicuroides/rufiventris) Black Redstart. Females often show a reddish wash to the underparts: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=11&Bird_ID=2596&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1 http://tarsiger.com/gallery/index.php?pic_id=annika1278004135&lang=eng...
  11. C

    Buzzard sp ID

    It looks uniformly dark even in a lightened picture. My bet would be Marsh Harrier.
  12. C

    Raptor ID in Kuwait please

    You'll also have to remember that the breeding period of Tawny Eagle is probably much longer than that of more northern raptors (i.e. there's a lot of variation in the real age of the "same" generation of Tawny Eagles). I have noted those, too, and I agree with you. Additionally, also this one...
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    Raptor ID in Kuwait please

    The bird in your link is adult-type (and interestingly it shows a pale throat). I would be interested in seeing pictures of uniformly mid-brown (milk chocolate brown) juvenile Tawny Eagles. Here are some juvenile-type Tawny Eagles from India (but if someone adds pictures to the gallery, the...
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    Raptor ID in Kuwait please

    Hi Tib! You are correct about the ageing. I'll cite a part of the caption of Plate 436 in Forsman's guide: "Juvenile in worn plumage (2nd cy spring). Aged by uniformly worn plumage, in particular by uniform greater coverts and secondaries with extremely worn pale tips." In this case the pale...
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    Raptor ID in Kuwait please

    I'd believe that it is a spring 2cy Steppe Eagle. Despite the short looking gape, the plumage is mid-brown (not especially tawny or sand coloured), the throat is pale and the bill doesn't look especially thick. Tawny Eagle has not been recorded in Kuwait and is very rare anywhere in the WP.
  16. C

    Rough-legged Buzzard?

    In strong backlight the secondaries usually appear darker than the primaries, because they overlap more and and are thus less translucent. The subject bird does not appear to be strongly backlit, but it is of course difficult to say anything with certainty because of the blurriness. By the way...
  17. C

    Rough-legged Buzzard?

    I'm not sure of the id, as blurry pictures can give a wrong impression (and sometimes I get a wrong impression even from perfectly good pictures), but two features that speak against RLB are the colouration of the secondaries and the colouration of the upperwing coverts. On RLB the undrersides...
  18. C

    sterna id

    Thanks Peter, I might sometimes have been right in easy cases, but this time I believe I was wrong. On a second look, you are probably right about the bird balancing on the seaweed, making the legs look longer than usual (as well as the neck). I believe the colouration of the secondaries and the...
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    sterna id

    Apparently a new blog entry has removed the photos from the front page, but you can still see them here: http://mydogoscar.com/birdspot/2011/08/18/an-easy-id/ I also took the liberty to attach lightened versions of two of the photos (the legs should be easier to see now).
  20. C

    sterna id

    I agree with Julian's views, to me the bird looks like a Common Tern, despite the opinion of the majority of the others, because 1. the legs look way too long for Arctic Tern 2. also bill and neck look too long, like pointed out by Julian 3. like pointed out by Jane, it seems to have replaced...
  21. C

    ID Warbler from kuwait

    A Blyth's Reed Warbler would have a shorter primary projection and a smaller bill. The bird looks like a Basra Reed Warbler to me.
  22. C

    Marsh Harrier? (in Turkey)

    A yellowish iris still doesn't rule out LLB, as (like you certainly know) immatures have pale, sometimes rather yellowish irides: http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/sevcik/long-legged-buzzard---b_rufinus_1.jpg http://www.realbirder.com/UAE/UAEBirds/Long-leggedBuzzard.jpg On the other hand...
  23. C

    Reed Warbler, or something else? - London UK

    IMO the bird looks like an adult Reed Warbler. In late summer adult Reed Warblers are worn and thus often more greyish than in spring. Also the alula can be paler due to wear. The mid-brown iris should rule out Garden Warbler, and also the yellowish hue on the flanks is more typical for RW. The...
  24. C

    Marsh Harrier? (in Turkey)

    It's difficult to be sure, but to me it looks more like a Long-legged Buzzard. The cream-coloured head and forebody fit LLB best (Honey Buzzards can sometimes also be pale, but at least pale juveniles usually have a dark mask). Like Capercaillie71, also I think that the proportions of the head...
  25. C

    Buzzard + Eagle - Turkey

    IMO the buzzard is unequivocally a juvenile Common Buzzard. It has very dark lesser underwing coverts, with a very contrasting pale bar formed by the median (and the bases of the greater) underwing coverts, which rules out Long-legged Buzzard. You'll find this feature mentioned also in the new...
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