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Golden eagle or long-legged buzzard? (1 Viewer)

G

Gleb Berloff

Guest
Taken in Saratov oblast, Russia
I saw this large bird soaring in the distance over steppes. I think it is a golden eagle due to its huge tail, it protruding head, and its colour, see the 'golden' feathers on its neck?
However, this also caused uproar- people think it is not an eagle but a long-legged buzzard, though I can't agree with them.
Am I right? Both are rare, so I won't mind...
 

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wolfbirder said:
Sorry Long legged Buzzard for me, from what I can see- profile and colours of head and underparts.
Click to expand...
Interesting. With a large tail like that? I investigated on the internet- I didn't find a bird with a huge tail like that. The reason I think goden is mostly because of that tail- had it been shorter I would have possibley agreed. But then again, profile is eagle-like for me, but I could be wrong...
How does a golden eagle even differ from that buzzard? Both were possible in the region, though long-legged much less likely due to it being the northernmost tip of that region, where they are not supposed to occur as much...
 
To try to answer one of your questions: I feel the angles of tail and body makes the tail appear larger than it really is (or make the body appear smaller).

Niels
 
njlarsen said:
To try to answer one of your questions: I feel the angles of tail and body makes the tail appear larger than it really is (or make the body appear smaller).

Niels
Click to expand...
I don't think so- I had it in my scope for a long while. Tail was the same length at all times. I have searched up images of both on the internet, and the golden is the only one with a tail like that. With a LLB, not only is the tail way too short- and I know this because I have actually seen a rufous LLB later on from the same angle (tail was massively shorter- this one is wider than the wings, exactly like what has to be with an eagle, and I saw a confirmation image on rrrcn.ru looking similar to mine, althought way too long for steppe buzzard). The colouration matches that of a golden eagle, especially the neck feathers, and the bill is too large. I don't know why you are so opposed to an eagle, but this cannot be a LLB, because the tail is simply too short, the bill is too large, and the colouration matches, and the head of a LLB doesn't protrude as far!
 
Gleb Berloff said:
I don't think so- I had it in my scope for a long while. Tail was the same length at all times. I have searched up images of both on the internet, and the golden is the only one with a tail like that. With a LLB, not only is the tail way too short- and I know this because I have actually seen a rufous LLB later on from the same angle (tail was massively shorter- this one is wider than the wings, exactly like what has to be with an eagle, and I saw a confirmation image on rrrcn.ru looking similar to mine, althought way too long for steppe buzzard). The colouration matches that of a golden eagle, especially the neck feathers, and the bill is too large. I don't know why you are so opposed to an eagle, but this cannot be a LLB, because the tail is simply too short, the bill is too large, and the colouration matches, and the head of a LLB doesn't protrude as far![/QUOTE]

So why are you asking for help, it seems you've made up your mind and won't accept what you're told, just as in your other thread?
Click to expand...
 
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Gleb Berloff said:
The colouration matches that of a golden eagle, especially the neck feathers, and the bill is too large. I don't know why you are so opposed to an eagle, but this cannot be a LLB, because the tail is simply too short, the bill is too large, and the colouration matches, and the head of a LLB doesn't protrude as far!
Click to expand...

Let's be honnest, I do not even know if I see the upperside or the lower side of this raptor, bill size is impossible to see in this quality, we might see lighter hand and lighter uniform tail compared to body, if it is not an artefact it's not good for Golden. So the only thing left is gut feeling on jizz which says Buteo, but very easy to be wrong with this kind of picture.
The other 2 threads are easier, no STE and no LLB
 
This image is so heavily cropped you can virtually count the individual pixels! To claim to be able to assess bill size from such a poor image is sheer self-delusion - forget it!

RB
 
Can't even tell whether this photo shows the birds undersides as its banks away to the left, or whether it shows the birds upperparts as it banks towards us?
 
tconzemi said:
Let's be honnest, I do not even know if I see the upperside or the lower side of this raptor, bill size is impossible to see in this quality, we might see lighter hand and lighter uniform tail compared to body, if it is not an artefact it's not good for Golden. So the only thing left is gut feeling on jizz which says Buteo, but very easy to be wrong with this kind of picture.
The other 2 threads are easier, no STE and no LLB
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Yes- I am becoming convinced I am wrong with the others. I am unconvinced with this one– simply due to honey buzzards and kites soaring in the same area, looking millions smaller, with bills so small I could not see them in the scope even though they were closer. Had I been closer... but I was about a kilometre away. It was just size, proportions, and comparison with others:
A few minutes before hand I saw 19 black kites, and in the same area as this "golden eagle" I saw about 3-4 honey buzzards, all of which looked different.
Shall I state exactly how I saw it?
 
Rotherbirder said:
This image is so heavily cropped you can virtually count the individual pixels! To claim to be able to assess bill size from such a poor image is sheer self-delusion - forget it!

RB
Click to expand...

I assessed it for HB- I COULD NOT SEE IT AT ALL DESPITE THEM BEING MUCH CLOSER. I have images of them, to show you what I mean, shall I show them?
 
Let's finish this thread first Gleb, you could start another seperate thread on your Honey Buzzard photo queries if you wish. It's really down to you how you conclude the identification of this bird.
 
Thanks. I believe this is a golden eagle, because:
1) The size was WAY too large for a buzzard, again, I had a good comparison with kites and HBs
2) The bill, as I have stated before, is too large- again, I could not see it even on an HB. On Lake Baikal with a kite, the bill was smaller than in this case despite the actual kite being closer
3) The colouration
4) The protruding head
5) The very long tail
There is one more reason I believe that this is not a buteo- the neck feathers appear to be yellow. Just like with an eagle. I just have a few questions- can an LLB or anything else buteo really look so eagle–like? All the others I have seen were so much smaller...
 
andyadcock said:
Gleb Berloff said:
I don't think so- I had it in my scope for a long while. Tail was the same length at all times. I have searched up images of both on the internet, and the golden is the only one with a tail like that. With a LLB, not only is the tail way too short- and I know this because I have actually seen a rufous LLB later on from the same angle (tail was massively shorter- this one is wider than the wings, exactly like what has to be with an eagle, and I saw a confirmation image on rrrcn.ru looking similar to mine, althought way too long for steppe buzzard). The colouration matches that of a golden eagle, especially the neck feathers, and the bill is too large. I don't know why you are so opposed to an eagle, but this cannot be a LLB, because the tail is simply too short, the bill is too large, and the colouration matches, and the head of a LLB doesn't protrude as far![/QUOTE]

So why are you asking for help, it seems you've made up your mind and won't accept what you're told, just as in your other thread?
Click to expand...
The reason I asked for help is because I haven't identified it properly at that stage. I made up my mind after those queries. The other thread is different- I accept now that I was wrong and the others
Click to expand...
 
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