BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="CAU" data-source="post: 1207173" data-attributes="member: 55324">The subject bird is somewhat tricky, as some pale GSEs may have rather pale under- and upperwing coverts. The id may be easier, if the bird is aged first.1. The vent is pale, which means that the bird is definitely not adult, but immature. In the second picture pale tips to the greater upperwing coverts might also be visible.2. Especially the left wing has a very neat and even trailing edge. On the right wing one inner primary is missing and another is loose, suggesting that the bird has just started its primary moult (one secondary is missing, too). The tail looks neat and intact. All these features fit well a 2nd cy bird.3. If the bird is indeed a 2nd cy bird, the colour of the plumage fits much better LSE than GSE. 2nd cy GSEs should still show quite spotted upperparts, and they generally have very dark wing coverts (excluding the rare fulvescens morph). Usually adult GSEs have the lightest wing coverts (again excluding fulvescens).Therefore it seems likely that the bird is a LSE. However, to me the bird looks quite broad winged for a juvenile LSE, and the seventh primary looks also quite long. Juvenile LSEs have a shorter p7 than adults, and the same applies also to GSE, which makes the feature sometimes quite difficult to assess, and it should be used with great caution if the bird cannot be aged.Christian, next time you see a Spotted Eagle at a distance of 100 m, look at the barring of the secondaries. LSEs have rather broad dark bars on the secondaries, with the barring extending to the tips of the feathers, while GSEs have a bit thinner bars, that gradually disappear toward the tips. Compare these:<a href="http://www.birdphoto.fi/lajikuvat/kuvahtml/9aqucla010.html" target="_blank">http://www.birdphoto.fi/lajikuvat/kuvahtml/9aqucla010.html</a><a href="http://www.tarsiger.com/images/komi/aqu_pom_pk_la_01.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.tarsiger.com/images/komi/aqu_pom_pk_la_01.jpg</a>"Older" adults of both species lack the barring (and some individuals, which may be hybrids,  show a somewhat intermediate barring).Edit: As Spotted Eagles may replace all their flight feathers within one moult cycle, also older birds than juveniles may show rather neat trailing edges of the wings and tail. However, 3cy birds usually have very uneven trailing edges, so I think that the bird is at least not of that age. And as said, the bird is not adult due to the pale vent.</blockquote>

Verification