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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Cream-coloured Courser (1 Viewer)

How long are they? Much disputed according to different sources:
Lars Jonsson Birds of Europe - 19-21 cm
HBW - 19-22 cm
Hayman et al. Shorebirds - 21-24 cm
BWP Concise - 22-24 cm
Collins Bird Guide - 24-27 cm

Incredible to have a 3 cm gap between the longest in Jonsson, and the shortest in Collins - never come across that level of discrepancy for any other bird. What measurement should we give in Opus?
 
Difficult! One known fact is that measurements form live birds often are 10% larger than from museum skins. Secondly, the different subspecies might differ in size. Is there any way to discover where the numbers originated? Otherwise I would tend to go with something in the middle, but that is not a firm statement.

Niels
 
Thanks! Unfortunately none of them cite the sources for their measurements.

Another problem that's come up: the identity of the coursers breeding on Socotra. This paper (citing this dead link to a paper Sandgrouse 36: 8–33) refers to them as Cream-coloured, but on geographical grounds, I would expect them to be Somali Courser, recently split from Cream-coloured. I think it is quite likely that the Sandgouse paper is treating Cream-coloured in its old, broad sense (including Somali), but I can't prove it.
 
HBW alive quote 19-24 cm with some large differences in weight depending on subspecies. They quote BWP for the measurements. Given the age of BWP I am guessing those numbers come from museum specimens.

If I find time I might look at some more things later.

Niels
 
The heavier subspecies is bogolubovi which should be the only one present in India. The field guide for india states 21-24cm for this one. I feel that leaves the Collins guide as the odd man out.

Niels
 
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