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Prion - Tasmania pelagic 10th October (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Chris_D
- Start date
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
Antarctic Prion P. (v.) desolata . Fairy and Fulmar Prions lack an blackish eye patch, have no black / dusky tip to the underwing primaries, a sharply delineated black tail and a slender / narrower bill. Broad-billed has less extensive grey on the breast sides, most of the time it's not really noticeable, and an even heavier black bill.
Chris
Chris
RobHynson
Well-known member
Hi Chris,
I would favour Fairy for this bird.
Antarctic Prion would have a darker more extensive grey half collar which is lacking in the bird in the first photo.
The face markings would be more prominent, the grey in the head would be darker and the supercilium would be more prominent.
In the third photo, the extensive black in the tail rules out Antarctic, Slender-billed and Salvin's and looks good for Fairy.
I'll try to find some prion photos of my own from Tasmania,
cheers,
Rob
I would favour Fairy for this bird.
Antarctic Prion would have a darker more extensive grey half collar which is lacking in the bird in the first photo.
The face markings would be more prominent, the grey in the head would be darker and the supercilium would be more prominent.
In the third photo, the extensive black in the tail rules out Antarctic, Slender-billed and Salvin's and looks good for Fairy.
I'll try to find some prion photos of my own from Tasmania,
cheers,
Rob
chris butterworth
aka The Person Named Above
Hi Rob,
IMO the first photo, although slightly 'burnt out', shows largish grey patches to the side of the breast and the bill is rather too heavy, particularly noticeable in #2. Having said that, in #3, the tail does look better for Fairy but, allowing for the rather harsh light, doesn't the mask look rather too dark with a distinct blackish patch in front of the eye and the crown darker than the rest of the upperparts?
Chris
IMO the first photo, although slightly 'burnt out', shows largish grey patches to the side of the breast and the bill is rather too heavy, particularly noticeable in #2. Having said that, in #3, the tail does look better for Fairy but, allowing for the rather harsh light, doesn't the mask look rather too dark with a distinct blackish patch in front of the eye and the crown darker than the rest of the upperparts?
Chris
John_WA
Well-known member
It sounds like 3 different ones from the original post
Must say I thought Fairy for them too (esp. 1 & 3), but not wildly confident with prions
Hi
Thanks for the discussion. There were two visits both lasting three minutes. I was under the impression that it was a single species but have been trying to look for features that would indicate more. It was so rough that I was taking pictures in a lift all the time and could not say for sure that it was two birds or more. We did not see two togther at any time.
These are the best shots from the first sightings:
The first two were sequential and show how the patch beside the forewing changed with the light
Thanks for the discussion. There were two visits both lasting three minutes. I was under the impression that it was a single species but have been trying to look for features that would indicate more. It was so rough that I was taking pictures in a lift all the time and could not say for sure that it was two birds or more. We did not see two togther at any time.
These are the best shots from the first sightings:
The first two were sequential and show how the patch beside the forewing changed with the light
Last edited:
RobHynson
Well-known member
Hi Chris,
I think the dark area around the eye and the dark grey sides to the breast are due to shadows/lighting effects and not quite in the range of Antarctic.
I find the bill of Antarctic is broader based and narrowing towards the tip where Fairy is more parallel sided.
I've attached a couple of pics of Antarctic and Fairy from earlier this year taken in reasonable light. The dark grey collar of Antarctic is quite distinctive as is the facial pattern.
Another thing I've noticed is the flight patterns are different. Fairy is pretty erratic while Antarctic flight is more like a small Pteradroma.
These guys are really tricky and single birds can be difficult unless you have a lot of experience with both species.
cheers,
Rob
I think the dark area around the eye and the dark grey sides to the breast are due to shadows/lighting effects and not quite in the range of Antarctic.
I find the bill of Antarctic is broader based and narrowing towards the tip where Fairy is more parallel sided.
I've attached a couple of pics of Antarctic and Fairy from earlier this year taken in reasonable light. The dark grey collar of Antarctic is quite distinctive as is the facial pattern.
Another thing I've noticed is the flight patterns are different. Fairy is pretty erratic while Antarctic flight is more like a small Pteradroma.
These guys are really tricky and single birds can be difficult unless you have a lot of experience with both species.
cheers,
Rob
Attachments
Thanks all
Some comments from Paul Brooks who runs the trips, which I definitely recommend; we had six species of albatross as well.
"Both birds are Fairy Prions (if they are two birds, which I think they are). The blue shoulder patch of an Antarctic/Salvin's Prion would be sharply demarcated from the white underparts, as you can see well in Rob's photo of Antarctic Prion on the forum. The bird/s in your photos show a diffuse border from the blue of the shoulder patch to the white of the underparts. The tail band is too thick for anything other than Fairy or Fulmar Prion, too and bill structure rules out Fulmar Prion."
Hopefully when working there again next year I will be able to test this on other species.
Regards
Chris
Some comments from Paul Brooks who runs the trips, which I definitely recommend; we had six species of albatross as well.
"Both birds are Fairy Prions (if they are two birds, which I think they are). The blue shoulder patch of an Antarctic/Salvin's Prion would be sharply demarcated from the white underparts, as you can see well in Rob's photo of Antarctic Prion on the forum. The bird/s in your photos show a diffuse border from the blue of the shoulder patch to the white of the underparts. The tail band is too thick for anything other than Fairy or Fulmar Prion, too and bill structure rules out Fulmar Prion."
Hopefully when working there again next year I will be able to test this on other species.
Regards
Chris
