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Saker Falcon Sichuan - ID confirmation (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter china guy
- Start date
rockfowl
Mark Andrews
Hi Sid,
If you'd have shown me this image and not mentioned Saker, I would never have gone for a falco sp. I've seen Sakers in China recently and they've never thrown such a bizarre shape, strange wing ratio, the pinched wing. For me there's one species that can have many disguises and I suspect that this may be one, Grey-faced Buzzard - http://orientalbirdimages.org/birdi...cies&Bird_ID=915&Bird_Family_ID=96&pagesize=1
Mark
If you'd have shown me this image and not mentioned Saker, I would never have gone for a falco sp. I've seen Sakers in China recently and they've never thrown such a bizarre shape, strange wing ratio, the pinched wing. For me there's one species that can have many disguises and I suspect that this may be one, Grey-faced Buzzard - http://orientalbirdimages.org/birdi...cies&Bird_ID=915&Bird_Family_ID=96&pagesize=1
Mark
Mark Bruce
Super Moderator
Looks good for GFB for me. I've been working with satellite tagged GFBs since Oct 2007. Sid, if possible could you give me details of the sighting as if it is late March-early April it is of interest. Was it a single bird?
The plates, silhouettes and ratios in Raptors of Taiwan are good and valuable info even if you can't read Mandarin.
rockfowl
Mark Andrews
Does seem rather early...a good record?
Mark Bruce
Super Moderator
Not sure when Sid saw his bird but 3rd April would be right on time.
Mark Bruce
Super Moderator
They start moving through Baguashan in western Taiwan from mid March and peak during the last week of March and finish mid April. The birds heading into Fujian do the Taiwan Strait crossing in a single flight and then start heading into the Chinese interior. They appear to slow down a lot then and can move northwards very slowly. The RRGT is tracking a GFB and it crossed the Strait into Fujian on 3/21. By 4/9 it had only traveled to the Jiangxi/Zhejiang/Fujian border area. It started its migration from central Luzon on 3/15 and was on the northern Luzon coast on 3/18. Sadly, the GFB that my team had tracked south to Mindanao in the southern Philippines in October last autumn vanished on 3/25 while heading north in the Negros-Panay area.
rockfowl
Mark Andrews
xiaoming
Well-known member
Don't be so cruel Rockfowl - that book has its uses - for example I've found a weighty edition of MacK a very good throwing weapon when faced with an angry Yak or an over excited Panda B
Wa, a 80-Yuan-brick
china guy
A taff living in Sichuan
On a more sombre note - lets hope these birds made it further North - since hunting migrating raptors with home-made guns is quite a past-time in Sichuan!!!!
These pics of illegal guns were taken in the province a couple of months back - this problem is widespreard - with raptors and game-birds being the main victims of the poaching.
These pics of illegal guns were taken in the province a couple of months back - this problem is widespreard - with raptors and game-birds being the main victims of the poaching.
Attachments
Rasmus Boegh
BF member
Don't be so cruel Rockfowl - that book has its uses - for example I've found a weighty edition of MacK a very good throwing weapon when faced with an angry Yak or an over excited Panda B
Interestingly, I would estimate that perhaps ~90% of all Chinese birds (disregrading the various splits that have gained acceptance after MacK was published, which we obviously cannot blame on any field guide author) can be identified relatively easily via the MacK by the average European/US birder visiting China. That figure may not be satisfactory, but puts it at league with the guides currently available for Argentina, above any of the guides currently available for Brazil, and certainly also above its predecessor, The Birds of China by de Schauensee, where many species had no illustration at all. Arguably even more interesting, some of the people (just for the record, no one involved in this thread) that have been most harsh in their criticism of MacK have the knowledge, yet have published few - if any - papers regarding field identification of Chinese birds, let alone taken significant part in the task of making a better guide. Hmm!? Anyhow, I certainly also look forward to the upcomming field guide to China, but despite its shortcomings MacK did have its place - especially considering the other available options.
(china guy - those guns look almost as dangerous to the person using them as to whatever they're aiming at. Unfortunately I guess that's not the case)
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china guy
A taff living in Sichuan
Well as the old saying goes - when it rains a GFB or two then they start to pour down!!!!
We're off on another expedition - this time in the far NE of Sichuan - and one of the first birds we spotted this morning was GFB - in fact we got two of them.
So here are are own series of silhouettes for this raptor.
Rasmus those blasted guns are a great danger to the local bird population - our hotel owner sweeps the foyer out with a brush made from the tail feathers of Golden Pheasant!!!!!!!!!
We're off on another expedition - this time in the far NE of Sichuan - and one of the first birds we spotted this morning was GFB - in fact we got two of them.
So here are are own series of silhouettes for this raptor.
Rasmus those blasted guns are a great danger to the local bird population - our hotel owner sweeps the foyer out with a brush made from the tail feathers of Golden Pheasant!!!!!!!!!
