GAME: name that bird!

[Rainbirder]

Scalythroated honeyguide.

 

Hurrah!!!

Your turn to pick up the baton!

[Sverker]

... tough, decayed, silty heron, I believe. [to give others the chance too!]

TZ was really the first ...

 

Great anagram, TZ!

 

I hope I can find a difficult one this time. Soon there will be a video.

[Sverker]

A video again.

 

http://youtu.be/dzBtwoH3svc

[wildernessman]

Martial eagle ?

[Rainbirder]

A video again.

 

http://youtu.be/dzBtwoH3svc

 

How very juvenile!

[Jochen]

(Juvenile) fish eagle?

[Rainbirder]

(Juvenile) fish eagle?

 

I suspect it's your turn.

[Sverker]

Fish eagle - no.

Eagle - yes.

It is subadult hence the strange coloration, not juvenile.

 

Try again!

[Sverker]

Wildernessman - it is a Martial Eagle (I missed your post at first.)

 

The big size alone told me it was a Martial Eagle (not a vulture). The biggest eagles take several years to attain adult plumage, and it could be a quite confusing mixture of old and new feathers.

 

About twice as big as a fish eagle, very broad wings with prominent "fingers", dark head and breast, but I agree that the overall coloration is close to that of a immature fish eagle.

 

Wildernessman, you are next.

[Rainbirder]

Wildernessman - it is a Martial Eagle (I missed your post at first.)

 

The big size alone told me it was a Martial Eagle (not a vulture). The biggest eagles take several years to attain adult plumage, and it could be a quite confusing mixture of old and new feathers.

 

About twice as big as a fish eagle, very broad wings with prominent "fingers", dark head and breast, but I agree that the overall coloration is close to that of a immature fish eagle.

 

Wildernessman, you are next.

 

Are you sure?

Looks like a 2nd calendar year African Fish Eagle to me.

Maybe we should refer this one to TZ birder ............but just in case, I'm ready to eat my Tilley! ;-)

[Jochen]

Well one thing you can't judge from video footage is the size, of course.

 

But I thought fish eagle given the distinct white collar around the neck vs the dark head, when viewed from below. I though a martial didn't have that (ic difference between head and breast feathers not that distinct)

[TZBirder]

Unfortunately TZ internet speeds doesn't make video friendly. Any chance of a still or two?

[Rainbirder]

The jizz is all wrong for Martial Eagle (as is the plumage pattern).

 

This bird is soaring on broad wings pushed slightly forward with marked separation of the primary "fingers" in a kind of stiff soaring flight.

Martial Eagle has much longer wings which are more pointed with less prominence to primary emargination.

 

If you check the ratio of wing breadth (maximal over the bulging secondaries) to wing length this bird's proportions fit in with Fish Eagle whilst Martial Eagles at all ages have proportionately much longer wings despite the secondary bulge.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Rainbirder

[Sverker]

Are you sure?

Looks like a 2nd calendar year African Fish Eagle to me.

Maybe we should refer this one to TZ birder ............but just in case, I'm ready to eat my Tilley! ;-)

This was more difficult than I intended. Let us wait a little before giving over to Wildernessman.

 

In the field I was sure it was a Martial Eagle almost from the moment I saw it. Strange colors, yes, but size and silhouette made it a Martial. The Fish Eagle has almost the same silhouette but the hand is more narrow and the primaries are not that "fingered". The Martial Eagle takes five to seven years to get adult plumage, so there maybe strange plumages in between. The head and breast is dark, typical of older Martial Eagles.

 

On the other hand, immature African Fish Eagle have roughly the coloration of this eagle. In the movie one cannot see any barring on flight feathers and tail, making it more like a Fish Eagle.

Also the tail is clearly white or nearly white above which speaks for a Fish Eagle. The light "windows" on the primaries reminds of the immature Fish Eagle, I haven´t seen those on any Martial Eagle (in field guides, I mean).

 

Watch the whole video and tell us what you see.

 

http://youtu.be/4p0j1F1bIKc

Edited March 15, 2012 by Sverker

[Jochen]

Unfortunately TZ internet speeds doesn't make video friendly. Any chance of a still or two?

 

Here you go, TZ.

Edited March 15, 2012 by Jochen

[TZBirder]

[#10171] You do not have permission to view this attachment.

[Jochen]

LOL

 

Even I myself cannot view it.

 

This will have to wait until tonight; as I have no access to youtube in the office, I can only have another try this evening, from home.

[wildernessman]

Sverker , would you object that I have copied it on an forum where many active & specialist birders will give an opinion ... ?

[ndaiga]

I would go for lesser masked weaver....

[Jochen]

 

This better, TZ?

Edited March 16, 2012 by Jochen

[inyathi]

My immediate first thought was fish eagle, to confirm my suspicion I paused the video near the end to get a freeze frame like the above and the colouration and wing pattern exactly matches the illustration of an immature fish eagle in Sinclair’s books. So fish eagle gets my vote

[Sverker]

My bad, it is a fish eagle ...

 

Jochen, you are next!

[Rainbirder]

My bad, it is a fish eagle ...

 

Jochen, you are next!

 

 

These large immature raptors are not easy. Your excellent footage is a very useful learning tool for all of us.

Thanks for posting it.

[Jochen]

My bad, it is a fish eagle ...

 

Jochen, you are next!

 

* Happy dance! *

 

2morrow! I need 2 look in my DB 4 a good image...

[TZBirder]

Just to note, I agree completely with fish eagle. It's unusual though, as the breast is very dark. Usually they're paler, at least closer to the head. The only real confusion species in a difficult picture like this would be juvenile palm-nut vulture in some sort of intermediate plumage, but the white patch on the wing is too small and the black and white tail pattern is reversed on palmnut. It doesn't help that all these large birds take several years to reach adult plumage!