Long-crested Eagle (1 Viewer)

[L'argonnais]

Hello,

bird seen last Month in Namibia, west Etosha, closed to Galton gate.
I have seen many pictures of different eagles ; for me only the Long-crest has the same white part on wings. But the pictures are so terrible , difficult to be sure at 100% ; hopefully it will be easier for experts !

JR

 

[tconzemi]

Looks very much African Hawk-eagle to my eyes, Long-crested would be even more bold

 

[Butty]

Can't say I'm convinced either way. Given the low photo-quality (no offence), different features could be seen as swaying the ID one way or the other. Maybe most-telling is the near-black underbody - which suggests long-crested eagle.

 

[L'argonnais]

Tom is right.
When I saw the picture 6783, even if it is terrible , we can see the white parts which I expected was enough to identify. and I had only this in mind lookig for the good species. But after the remark of Tom, I checked my pictures again, if I could see/guess a little bit the crest ; no succes.
But I have another picture still worse ; deserve the Nobel price of the bull shit picture????? 😄😁 but it is interesting , and I should have posted it the first time; as we can see the lower part which are clear/white ; I haven't seen any Long crest so clear; and I guess now it is an African Hawk-eagle

JR

 

[MacNara]

Can't say I'm convinced either way. Given the low photo-quality (no offence), different features could be seen as swaying the ID one way or the other. Maybe most-telling is the near-black underbody - which suggests long-crested eagle.

Maybe it's just my eye, but I took the bird in 6783 to have its back to us, moving away, so we can't see the underbody (I can't see any feet). In 6780, presumably we can see the underwing and the bird must be moving away to show that pattern. It appears to show a white leading edge, and L'argonnais says that the third photo shows white lower parts - I couldn't even say it's a bird myself, let alone its position - ergo African Hawk-Eagle.

 

[Butty]

I took the bird in 6783 to have its back to us

Can't be so, or the wing-pattern would be wrong for both species.

6780, presumably we can see the underwing and the bird must be moving away to show that pattern. It appears to show a white leading edge

I can't tell what it's doing or whether we see upper- or underwing. Don't know what 'leading edge' you refer to, but it clearly has black coverts and a black trailing edge to the primaries.

[Pic 3] I couldn't even say it's a bird myself

👍🏻
Though it does clearly have legs which means the bird must be facing left and most of the white is the underbody - which is weird given that most of the underbody appears black in pic 2. Given these and other inconsistencies and impossibilities I'm very happy to pass!

 

[tconzemi]

That's what I see
from African Hawk-Eagle

 

[Butty]

Yes, looks right 👍🏻

 

[MacNara]

Hi Butty.

I bow to your superior knowledge of the pattern of the bird. But my eyes still interpret it as the bird facing away and grappling with the ?crow in the photo. From the book it looks OK to me for the back.

I don't think it's worth me searching through my old photos., but the Sasol Guide and Birds of East Africa both show African Hawk-Eagle with a white leading edge to the underwing and Long-crested not. My attachment shows what I think I see in the first photo. I still can't get anything at all out of third photo.

But I'm just doing this for fun. With the quality of the photos perhaps a definite ID is indeed doubtful, and anyway not important, as I don't think L'argonnais is going to be sending this to National Geographic! And probably has better shots of both birds.

 

[lockbreeze926]

This is the only one I've ever seen.