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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rasmus Boegh" data-source="post: 462553" data-attributes="member: 1146">Steve, largely we agree, though I may have reaches some conclusions in a different way. Anyway, my comments on the bird on the second photo: First, the distinctive Sulawesi Goshawk (A. griseiceps) is easily excluded; in all plumages it looks very different from the bird on the photo. Spot-tailed (A. trinotatus) & Small (A. nanus) are very similar to each other, main difference being that the former has, as suggested in its name, two or three rather distinct white spots in the tail. As adults, neither has bars on the tail when seen from below. Imm. Small has clear bars in the tail (also from below) and one could argue the bird on the photo was a sub-adult that had retained these - if it hadn't been for the slight barring on the lower chest. There are not any bars on the chest/belly in *any* plumage of Small. The same can be said about Spot-tailed. Vinous-breasted (A. rhodogaster) has a tail pattern that looks pretty identical to the pattern on the individual on the photo, but, regardless of age, it doesn't have any barring on the chest/belly either. Males Japanese (A. gularis) & Chinese (A. soloensis) can be excluded by (among others) the yellow eyes of the individual on the photo, while the female Japanese has far more distinct barring below. Hence, that leaves female/sub-ad./imm. Chinese and sub-ad./imm. Japanese as possibilities. Using the features also mentioned by Steve (cuckooroller) in the previous post I would say it probably is a Japanese rather than Chinese, but the problem is that I have some doubts in the reliability of these features when it comes to imm's and in particular sub-adults...</blockquote>

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