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Marsh Harrier? (in Turkey) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter sgokce
- Start date
Capercaillie71
Well-known member
Seems too large-headed for that. Looks more like a common buzzard to me.
It's not a marsh harrier, as it would have to be a male with that all-pale head and a male marsh harrier would show grey in the wings and have a grey tail.
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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 and bill look better for a Buteo than a HB, and the tail doesn't seem to project beyond the wing tips.
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, also the cere looks yellowish (about as clearly as the eyes, i.e. not very clearly to me...), which wouldn't fit an adult HB (and juveniles have dark eyes).
Biancone
to err is human
On my laptop I struggle to see yellow iris or cere!! But certainly a hint of paleness in the iris. Just looking at the overall shape of the bird, and the head size, I think of Buteo before Pernis. The extent of pale patches on the coverts and scapulars, and great contrast with dark flight feathers, also seem better for the former than the latter. But having said that I recall images (forget where) of female HB that aren't too distant from this. Also, in the image where the bird is looking almost directly at the observer, I do think I see a suggestion of typical raptor supraorbital ridges, not the more rounded HB head. Got to admit, if I came across this bird in the field I'd be tempted to wait around until it flew before deciding what I thought it is!
