GAME: name that bird!

[mvecht]

@@Tom Kellie @@wilddog @@Peter Connan

This is a Motacilla maderaspatensis also known as a whitebrowed or large pied Wagtail.

It is the largest of the wagtails and is endemic to India.

Tom, I have only been to urban China so I am mainly familiar with Peking Duck but maybe you can show us another interesting Chinese bird?

[Tom Kellie]

Ok for those of us who are not experts and wish to learn is it possible to include the English name as well as the scientific Latin name.

 

Thanks

 

~ @@wilddog

 

Unfortunately I may not be able to do that in every case, especially outside of Africa.

My resources here are in Chinese, 中文, and the university's science library, database, doesn't include English common names.

Please pardon the lack of an English name, as it was unknown to me for an Asian species.

I'm sorry about that. Nonetheless, the binomial nomenclature name may lead interested users to find their own local common name.

Google and Yahoo aren't available here, which limits the possibilities for looking up English common names.

For East African bird species, happily, there are ample books in my house.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie @@wilddog @@Peter Connan

This is a Motacilla maderaspatensis also known as a whitebrowed or large pied Wagtail.

It is the largest of the wagtails and is endemic to India.

Tom, I have only been to urban China so I am mainly familiar with Peking Duck but maybe you can show us another interesting Chinese bird?

 

~ @@mvecht

 

‘Peking Duck’ — Ha Ha!

Maybe I should have uploaded a photo of that ‘species’ on the table of a local restaurant!

********************************************************************************************************************

The two photos below were taken at a great distance across a river in the Xishuangbanna National Tropical Botanical Garden in the southernmost corner of Yunnan Province, not many kilometers from both Laos and Myanmar.

It's the male of a species. His mate was also nearby when this image was made in February, 2012.

Tom K.

[inyathi]

My first guess for this one was the Asian emerald cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus but the I’m not sure the colour is quite right so for a second guess I will go with its relative which I’ve never seen Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus.

[Tom Kellie]

My first guess for this one was the Asian emerald cuckoo Chrysococcyx maculatus but the I’m not sure the colour is quite right so for a second guess I will go with its relative which I’ve never seen Violet Cuckoo Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus.

 

~ @@inyathi

 

Bullseye!

Not only accurate but rapid.

Thanks!

Tom K.

[inyathi]

@@Tom Kellie Thanks the only trouble is I've now got to try and find a bird that I haven't already posted in my latest report, hopefully I will find something from my earlier travels to post this evening.

[inyathi]

I didn't want to make it too hard or spend too long trying to decide what to go for so I thought I'd go with this one, does anyone know what this bird is?

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by inyathi

[Tom Kellie]

I didn't want to make it too hard or spend too long trying to decide what to go for so I thought I'd go with this one, does anyone know what this bird is?

 

~ @@inyathi

 

I've certainly never observed this bird species, let alone photographed it.

Could it possibly be Nyctanassa violacea, Yellow-crowned Night Heron?

I've had a relative refer to it as a ‘Squawk’, although I'm unable to vouch for the accuracy of that.

Tom K.

[inyathi]

@@Tom Kellie Yes indeed it is I didn't want to chose anything too hard but I guess I'll have to see if I can find something more challenging next time.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie Yes indeed it is I didn't want to chose anything too hard but I guess I'll have to see if I can find something more challenging next time.

 

~ @@inyathi

 

It was difficult for me as I'd never seen it before.

The bird photos which stymie me tend to be of either females or juveniles.

I'm glad that you posted it as I'd never actually seen a photo of it, only a crude drawing.

Now I'll look for a Chinese species.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

~ This is an adult female, photographed in the Hong Kong Wetland Park on 5 August, 2012.

What species is it?

[Peter Connan]

@@Tom Kellie, is it a fork-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga Christinae)?

 

It seems as if, just is it is difficult to find information on the net in China, it is also hard to find information about China on the net...

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie, is it a fork-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga Christinae)?

 

It seems as if, just is it is difficult to find information on the net in China, it is also hard to find information about China on the net...

 

~ @@Peter Connan

 

IMPRESSIVE!

You're 100% correct!

Ha! Now we both know how tough it is to find such information on-line.

Yet you did it!

Your turn...

Tom K.

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @@Tom Kellie

 

I suspect this might be cheating, but here you go. Let's see how observant you all are:

 

[Tom Kellie]

Thanks @@Tom Kellie

 

I suspect this might be cheating, but here you go. Let's see how observant you all are:

 

~ @@Peter Connan

 

Oh, boy...

Is it Anas sparsa, African Black Duck?

(I've wrestled for a couple of hours with both Anas sparsa and Anas undulata, Yellow-billed Duck, fully realizing that it could be neither.)

Tom K.

[mvecht]

It looks very black to me

[inyathi]

The Fork-tailed sunbird was much as easier as the choices were more limited than in this case.

 

It looks to me like this duck has a yellow bill which would point to yellow-billed although the mallard Anas Platyrhynchos also has a yellow bill, the black duck has a pinkish and black bill if I'm wrong about the bill then it could be that as it would be the obvious choice to make the joke.

 

On the assumption that this was taken in Africa then I will take a guess at yellow-billed duck as this species is much more common and widespread than the mallard.

[Tom Kellie]

The Fork-tailed sunbird was much as easier as the choices were more limited than in this case.

 

It looks to me like this duck has a yellow bill which would point to yellow-billed although the mallard Anas Platyrhynchos also has a yellow bill, the black duck has a pinkish and black bill if I'm wrong about the bill then it could be that as it would be the obvious choice to make the joke.

 

On the assumption that this was taken in Africa then I will take a guess at yellow-billed duck as this species is much more common and widespread than the mallard.

 

~ @@inyathi

 

I think that you're right.

It was a wrestling match in my thoughts.

In retrospect, you're the superior grappler on this.

Tom K.

[Peter Connan]

Sorry guys, not one of those two.

 

Tip: the photo appears with ID elsewhere in this forum.

[inyathi]

@@Peter Connan As a first thought it did cross my mind that this might be a whistling duck, but then I rejected the idea after I decided to see if I could lighten the image using Photoshop to reveal some hidden details/colours this suggested to me that the bird has a yellow bill and also that it has a faint white line on the wing which is what pointed me towards yellow-billed duck. However maybe that is all just an illusion, what I’m going say now is that it is a white-faced whistling duck Dendrocygna viduata although it had occurred to me that this might be the case I have to confess that I used my knowledge of how to conduct an advanced search of ST to find your report rather than use my ornithological knowledge to work this out.

[Peter Connan]

@@inyathi, I apologise profusely!

 

I was sure this was a white-faced whistling duck, as there had been several flying around there that morning, and no other ducks.

 

However, I just upped the exposure on the RAW file, and it is indeed a yellow-billed duck!

 

 

I apologise!

 

Your turn now...

[inyathi]

Thanks, easy mistake to make with a silhouette so no need to apologise, it I’m just glad i wasn’t all in my imagination, the wing markings are very clear in your new image but weren’t quite as obvious when I was looking at the smaller version. I find it amazing what’s revealed when you lighten up a silhouette it doesn’t always make for a better picture but it does sometimes give you just enough new information to identify a bird.

 

That last bird I posted was obviously just a little too easy so I thought I would go with one that is hopefully just a little bit more challenging.

 

Can anyone put a name to this little beauty; I will offer some clues in due course if necessary.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by inyathi

[Tom Kellie]

Thanks, easy mistake to make with a silhouette so no need to apologise, it I’m just glad i wasn’t all in my imagination, the wing markings are very clear in your new image but weren’t quite as obvious when I was looking at the smaller version. I find it amazing what’s revealed when you lighten up a silhouette it doesn’t always make for a better picture but it does sometimes give you just enough new information to identify a bird.

 

That last bird I posted was obviously just a little too easy so I thought I would go with one that is hopefully just a little bit more challenging.

 

Can anyone put a name to this little beauty; I will offer some clues in due course if necessary.

 

~ @@inyathi

 

Tip of the cap and sweeping bow for the Yellow-billed Duck identification.

Could the diminutive beauty above possibly be Aegithalos leucogenys, White-cheeked Tit?

Tom K.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Tom Kellie

[inyathi]

@@Tom Kellie Thanks, given the distribution of my bird I thought you would be the most likely to get it, however no that's not it so I can't give you the cigar just yet.

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie Thanks, given the distribution of my bird I thought you would be the most likely to get it, however no that's not it so I can't give you the cigar just yet.

 

~ @@inyathi

 

Fair enough. I need to be more systematic in my reasoning if I seek a stogie.

I'll try once more. If I once again fall short, I'll leave it to others, as it's unfair for me to keep guessing in what's the middle of the night here, but earlier in the day for them.

Is it Aegithalos concinnus, Black-throated Tit?

I've never seen that species, as all tits are rare here, unless one heads into remote areas, as @@kittykat23uk did.

Tom K.