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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CAU" data-source="post: 1493846" data-attributes="member: 55324">I agree with Th_SQ, the first bird looks unambiguously blue to me. The shade of the blue also exactly matches Blue Rock Thrush. Although there are photographic artefacts that affect the colours, I just can't see how these could turn a Black Redstart to look coloured exactly like a Blue Rock Thrush, especially as the colours look otherwise natural (well, there are of course some standard colour fringes and chroma noise). Especially the throat and upper breast look shiningly blue, although they should be black on a Black Redstart. There's no sign of a white wing panel, which excludes an adult male Black Redstart. A 2cy bird would have brown wings. The female seems to have a flattish crown and a proportionally small head, which also fits Blue Rock Thrush. The length of the tail is difficult to judge from this angle, it doesn't look too long for Blue Rock Thrush to me.<a href="http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=69591" target="_blank">http://www.birdpix.nl/album_page.php?pic_id=69591</a><a href="http://www.tarsiger.com/images/hande/Monsol1a.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.tarsiger.com/images/hande/Monsol1a.jpg</a>The observer thought that the male appeared dark blue and both birds looked large. The features that many think that are pro-Black Redstart can actually be easily ascribed to photographic effects (weak red fringes at the vent of the male and the tail of the female and noise reduction causing a rather uniformly coloured underside on the female).</blockquote>

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