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Post by steve pryor on Jul 1, 2012 9:21:06 GMT
Great documentation. Yes I think it must be a 'helper' male. IA quick search of wiki etc did not bring up any mention of helpers in other Terpsiphone spp. Steve - any mention in HBW (which i don't have. Hi Des, I took a good look about this item. Terpsiphone is a typical monarchine. There are only a couple of instances where there are small groups of monarchids (not this genus however) that practise communal-breeding (meaning placing the nests in close proximity). According to the more generalized blurb regarding the Monarchid groups breeding habits, Terpsiphone seems to form pair-bonds that exceed just the one-clutch nesting event with the exception of T. viridis (info from nesting birds in Gabon) where it appears to be just a one-shot deal. As far as "helper birds" presumably male descendants of the nesting pair, well, in monarchids this behavior has not been recorded according to my information. "Helper birds" not necessarily directly related to the nesters, and not necessarily immature birds, have been recorded only in those couple of instances for which I mentioned above the communal-breeding.
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Post by steve pryor on Jun 30, 2012 12:42:24 GMT
Hi Ramon, Yes, Neon has it right. It is just a question of practising your eye. The Cyornis (this one) is a larger, stockier bird respect to the Ficedula (the Snowy-browed FC), and the wing tips are more acute and the tail is longer. Then, you examine the face markings closely. The female of the Ficedula does not have huge white lores (as seen here), it has lores that are large and non-concolorous with the surrounding area but the color is generally rusty. Further, the supercilium is different - small, linear and whitish in the male Ficedula while the female Ficedula has an eye-ring rather than a supercilium. Actually, the confusion species here rather than the Ficedula is more likely the co-ranging Cyornis rufigastra ( Mangrove Blue Flycatcher). However, this can be eliminated (comparing the females of the two species) because the rufigastra has more of a bluish component on the mantle, in the wings, and on the dorsal aspect of the tail, and the whitish component surrounding the eye-ring superiorly is not as conspicuous in the rufigastra as it is in the lemprieri (the Palawan Blue FC).
Very good photo by the way. One of the best I have seen of the female.
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Post by steve pryor on May 27, 2012 17:25:39 GMT
Well, sort of out of focus, but I think it is a Chiffchaff, in this case it would be the split species (from P. collybita) Phylloscopus ibericus, Iberian Chiffchaff.
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Post by steve pryor on May 27, 2012 10:56:12 GMT
Regulus ignicapillus
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Post by steve pryor on May 27, 2012 5:51:29 GMT
Ramon, It is a Troglodytes troglodytes, variously called Eurasian, Northern, or Winter Wren.
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Post by steve pryor on May 26, 2012 14:57:53 GMT
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Post by steve pryor on May 18, 2012 17:41:25 GMT
Hi Ely, Where precisely was the Bush-Tanager shot? It will be reclassified. C. ophthalmicus has proven to be a junior synonym to C. flavopectus. It will wind up being C. flavopectus as soon as the SACC pronounces on it. The species is doubtless overlumped and may be split soon. Two races range in CR, regionalis, and novicius. This is probably regionalis judging from the coloration of the head. I took the picture at the Parque Nacional de Quetzal of San Gerardo de Dota. I am not surprise with the delayed announcement as this is usually the case when something is to be changed. They have to be very careful about it. I don't know how many years it took before they finally announce the Collared Kingfisher as an endemic. What does SACC stand for, I supposed it is an international body of experts on birds who are capable of making big decisions. Thank you Steve for your advance information. SACC stands for South American Checklist Committee: www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htmlHere is the relative proposal: www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop521.html
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Post by steve pryor on May 18, 2012 6:21:50 GMT
Hi Ely, Where precisely was the Bush-Tanager shot?
It will be reclassified. C. ophthalmicus has proven to be a junior synonym to C. flavopectus. It will wind up being C. flavopectus as soon as the SACC pronounces on it. The species is doubtless overlumped and may be split soon. Two races range in CR, regionalis, and novicius. This is probably regionalis judging from the coloration of the head.
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Post by steve pryor on May 17, 2012 7:21:11 GMT
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Post by steve pryor on May 17, 2012 7:17:23 GMT
Subadult male Falco tinnunculus is my take.
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Post by steve pryor on May 14, 2012 16:29:21 GMT
Hi Ramon, They are Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). I have them coming out of my ears here in the foothills east of Rome.
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Post by steve pryor on May 14, 2012 9:42:18 GMT
Hello Sir Steve. I thought this is the Green-winged Brown Ground Dove. Thank you for the ID. Well, it probably is though I am not familiar with this particular version of the common name, however, there are tons of common names for this. Just about everybody uses simply Emerald Dove by now, some of the older common names being found only in old taxonomic lists, and old guide books. Here are some that I am pasting in from OBI: Common Emerald Dove, Emerald Ground Dove, Emerald Ground-Dove, Green-backed Dove, Green-winged Dove, Green-winged Pigeon, Green-winged Ground Dove, Green-winged Ground-Dove, Indian Emerald Dove, Indian Emerald-Dove, Indian Green-winged Dove, Grey-capped Emerald Dove, Brown-capped Emerald Dove, Little Green Pigeon, Ceylon Bronze-wing Pigeon, Pacific Emerald Dove (chrysochlora), Pacific Emerald-Dove (chrysochlora), Bronze-winged Dove, Green-winged Emerald Dove, Gray-capped Emerald Dove
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Post by steve pryor on May 14, 2012 5:45:23 GMT
Emerald Dove
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Post by steve pryor on May 13, 2012 16:51:17 GMT
Steve, females average 6% larger on lengths and can be considerably heavier (according to Ferguson-Lees and Christie). So if I had to choose with a gun to my head, I would go for male. But not otherwise Somehow, I missed it. I do have the Ferguson-Lees and Christie (the smaller Field Guide). The HBW was absolutely no help. Thanks for the info. Generally speaking most Raptor females are slightly larger.
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Post by steve pryor on May 12, 2012 10:52:00 GMT
Sorry for the mistake, I stand corrected Last Photo was Paradise Blue Flycatcher Thanks for the reminder. Certainly no apologies here. It is a rather common mistake. It is actually the only confusion species with the Hypothymis, and just something to be remembered when in the Palawan EBA, but only there. By the way, the bird is an adult male. A minutium - called Blue Paradise Flycatcher rather than the other way around.
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Post by steve pryor on May 12, 2012 9:00:45 GMT
Resurrecting an old thread because of the other thread having the white coucal.
Just a couple of considerations. The color of the iris in the normomorph C. viridis ranges from red to brown. The ocular skin is normally greyish, as can be seen here.
Generally speaking it is improper the use of the term "albino" for animals other than humans.
As far as when to use the two not interchangeable terms, morph, and phase as applied to bird plumages, well, there has been a long-standing improper use of the terms even by those writing about birds. It should be implicit within the word "phase" itself the concept that "phase" should be used properly only when speaking of transitory plumages, and the most common place where the term might be used is within bird species that have seasonal moults leading up to, and following from the assumption of mating plumages.
As far as the bird above, this is a white "morph"! To say that a bird species can possess permanent plumage color schemes besides that of the normomorph means that there exist adult birds that assume a non-normomorphic plumage scheme that is permanent! A morph will not change plumages, i.e., it is not a phasic and transitory plumage.
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Post by steve pryor on May 12, 2012 8:42:07 GMT
Hi Clemn, No. It is an adult male or female Philippine Serpent Eagle - Spilornis holospilus.
However, beyond the cute answer above, I do know that your real question is whether or not it is possible to sex the adults. The answer, not as far as I know, at least not on gross visible morphology. I am not even sure there are mensural sex differences, i.e., measuring body parts, etc. As far as I know the sexes are indistinguishable both as adults, and as immature birds.
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Post by steve pryor on May 12, 2012 8:22:53 GMT
Hi Lawrence, Nice photos.
The Black-naped Monarch? I will let you look at the bill strength (among other things), and then you have one more guess!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by steve pryor on Apr 30, 2012 15:47:47 GMT
The Flameback is now split by the IOC - an endemic now - Dinopium everetti (Spot-throated Flameback).
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Post by steve pryor on Apr 30, 2012 9:13:52 GMT
Hi Neil, Grey Wagtail, not Yellow. Thanks for the correction sir. ;D No problem - just think yellow rump, not much white in wings - Grey Wag.
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