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  1. Farnboro John

    Rough legged buzzard? Goshawk? - NE Scotland

    I checked my Rough-legged Buzzard records and found them equally divided about the turn of the year. I suspect there is observer bias in my case persuading me to make more effort at the end of the year if I haven't seen one near the start. The following are after Jan 1: Massingham Heath...
  2. Farnboro John

    Rough legged buzzard? Goshawk? - NE Scotland

    I think you have been commendably cautious and your description as far as it goes is pretty useful. Unfortunately sometimes you just have to end with a shrug and hope for better views next time and I think this is one of those occasions. But its still always a good idea to ask because with...
  3. Farnboro John

    Rough legged buzzard? Goshawk? - NE Scotland

    I should say includes but is not limited to the most basal part of the tail feathers. When the terms for the other feathers there are "upper-tail" and "undertail" coverts, I think their position is pretty clear: they cover the base of the tail. Plus the observation, by the word of the OP, was...
  4. Farnboro John

    Rough legged buzzard? Goshawk? - NE Scotland

    Yes, and as I said quite clearly, the Rough-legged Buzzard doesn't have a white tail base. It has a white tail with a dark tip. There's a big difference between that and a white tail base, which the observer may or may not be using in the sense you do. John
  5. Farnboro John

    Rough legged buzzard? Goshawk? - NE Scotland

    Buzzards moulting their uppertail coverts. Rough-legged Buzzards do not have a white tail base. They have a white tail with a broad dark terminal band: in adults the white is somewhat sullied but always noticeable as being on the tail, not at the base. Like many other ID issues with unfamiliar...
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