• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Shikra or Besra Sri Lanka 2012 (1 Viewer)

Ben_T

Active member
Hi everyone! So, due to the absence of international travel I sifted among old pictures and I found some birds from a Sri Lanka trip in august 2012 that I think me and the guide might have misidentified.

First up is a classic problem. We identified this bird as juvenile Besra, due to the strong gular stripe and, from the one picture where it is seen, the bands on the tail. However, ebird alerted me of a possible misidentification. It does have longish wings, that might point to a Shikra. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

Beniamino
 

Attachments

  • Besra 2 copy 2.jpg
    Besra 2 copy 2.jpg
    78.8 KB · Views: 39
  • Besra 4 copy 4.jpg
    Besra 4 copy 4.jpg
    116.6 KB · Views: 60
  • Besra 5 copy 2.jpg
    Besra 5 copy 2.jpg
    103.4 KB · Views: 21
  • Besra 6 copy 2.jpg
    Besra 6 copy 2.jpg
    123.2 KB · Views: 26
  • Besra copy 2.jpg
    Besra copy 2.jpg
    83.6 KB · Views: 23
Hi Beniamino

This looks like a juvenile Shikra imo - the comparatively narrow bands on the tail (ie dark bands about half the width of the grey โ€˜spacesโ€™ better fit Shikra than Besra. The slightly longer primary projection and comparatively thicker tarsis and proportionately large feet also look better for Shikra to me. I believe we can make out the dark grey/black orbital ring too on a couple of the shots - Besra has a yellow orbital ring. (I would wait for more opinions though, I am looking on a very small screen and the images are quite dark)
 
(I would wait for more opinions though, I am looking on a very small screen and the images are quite dark)

In the absence of further confirmation (or contradictory opinion) since you posted yesterday, I had another look at your images on a larger screen. I believe (still!) this looks better for Shikra for the reasons stated.
 
Agree with Shikra - the eye-ring does appear to be grey and although the wings don't look particularly long, the tail-bands are too narrow.
 
Dear Deb and Andy

Thank you very much for your resolutive opinions! And sorry for not answering sooner, I was in the middle of moving house. In the meantime I also got answers from a Sri Lanka Field Ornithology group and they all agree with you, it is a Shikra. I especially appreciate the thorough description of the differences - I could find some of those things on the field guide, but other were missing. I had been confused (along with the guide, I might add) by the strong gular stripe, but the evidence you brought forward is overwhelming.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

My very best wishes, Beniamino
 
Thank you Beniamino - it is kind of you to โ€˜report backโ€™ and I am pleased you were able to get confirmation from the SLFO also!
 
Warning! This thread is more than 4 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top