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Subject: [China] Raptors @ Northern Xinjiang 北疆猛禽 [Print This Page]
Author: Paux    Time: 26/05/2011 16:55     Subject: Raptors @ Northern Xinjiang 北疆猛禽

Mid May, 2011
Long-legged Buzzard 棕尾鵟



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Author: Paux    Time: 26/05/2011 16:57




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Author: Paux    Time: 26/05/2011 17:08

Steppe Eagle 草原鵰



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Author: Paux    Time: 26/05/2011 17:10




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Author: EricB    Time: 28/05/2011 05:06

Hi Paux
Thanks for sharing your pictures from your trip. The 2nd raptor is particularly interesting.It is tricky to id from the available photos but I assume you didn't really mean Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis. I may be going off at a tangent here but did you mean  'Steppe Buzzard' Buteo buteo vulpinus ?
With kind regards
Eric

[ Last edited by EricB at 28/05/2011 15:02 ]
Author: Paux    Time: 28/05/2011 15:31

Hi Eric, for the bird you refer to, I did mean Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis). Its size (72-81 cm) is so much larger than a Common Buzzard (54 cm) & their features are different. I don't know why you would have thought it was a Common Buzzard?

Paul
Author: ajohn    Time: 28/05/2011 19:45

I had also been puzzling over these pictures. I had assumed all shots were of the same bird, but looking more closely, it looks like the tarsi on the bird in flight are not feathered whereas they are on the perched bird. Are they the same bird Paul, or could the first bird actually be a Buzzard as Eric suggested. The plumage of the bird in flight also looks to me more like a buzzard than an eagle.

The perched bird does look more like a Steppe Eagle, with moderately large bill (too large for a buzzard), obvious gape line and feathered tarsi.
Author: EricB    Time: 29/05/2011 08:34

I’m glad to see I’ve found myself tangled by  a ‘2 bird theory’ scenario once again! It never dawned on me to consider that this might be the case but it does make much more sense.

My comment about the Buzzard wasn't offering a unified identification.Trying to make a logical progression from what was visible in the flight photo to the perched bird left me unable to come to a definitive conclusion.I was really trying to guess at how Paul ended up with a Steppe Eagle and an upperwing pattern as shown.I was convinced the first flight photo ruled out every possible Steppe Eagle plumage! At a stretch perhaps a dark variant adult Steppe E might remotely fit but even then I think it has too many pale markings on the coverts for this. As John has mentioned the shape of the bird in flight seems all wrong for a large Aquila Eagle.
Besides some sort of Buzzard, I can't think of anything else which could possibly look like the bird in flight although I have considered Booted Eagle or a juv Bonelli's but neither really fit.

Now that John has brought up the concept of 2 different birds, I agree the perched bird best fits a Steppe Eagle; my main concern with the perched bird was that the tarsal feathers look surprisingly pale compared to the rest of the plumage and sparsely streaked.I was wondering if something else was going on here like some sort of hybrid.

E

[ Last edited by EricB at 29/05/2011 08:37 ]
Author: Paux    Time: 29/05/2011 23:33

John & Eric,
As far as I can remember, we first spotted a large bird perching on a post while we were on a van at dusk. So we immediately went down from the van & took some record photos. The bird then moved to another post. And to my delight, it finally perched on a post close to my position. As all these just happened within a couple of mins., I believe the bird in my 1st photo was the same in the other photos. Anyway I attach here 3 more record photos which I hope will help to ID this bird; photo A was took just before the 1st photo, photo B was took after the bird landed on a post & photo C was took when the bird flied away again before it landed relatively close to me.

Paul
A

B

C


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Author: ajohn    Time: 30/05/2011 09:36

Thank you for the extra photos - these actually help a lot!
Photo B shows a perched bird which is clearly a buzzard and obviously different from the previous photos of perched birds. Compare especially the relative size of the bill, the shape and pattern of the head, the strength of the legs/feet and the feathering on the legs. Photo C shows the underwing, and the patterning fits for a buzzard - the dark patch at the carpal is a classic feature of buzzards and would not be shown by any eagle.
The first perched photos show a clearly much more powerful bird, and this bird does look more like a Steppe Eagle.

I wonder whether the Eagle had recently made a kill and the buzzard was waiting in the same area to see whether it might be able to scavenge some food, hence you seeing both birds in the same area at the same time.
Author: Paux    Time: 30/05/2011 10:33

John,
Thank you very much for your analysis.
Paul
Author: Paux    Time: 1/06/2011 23:16

Steppe Eagle in flight (different one)



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Author: Paux    Time: 1/06/2011 23:43

Lesser Kestrel 黃爪隼



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Author: Paux    Time: 2/06/2011 00:15

Eurasian Hobby 燕隼

Common Kestrel 紅隼


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Author: Paux    Time: 2/06/2011 00:29

Pallid Harrier 草原鷂

The bird under the Pallid Harrier was a Montagu's Harrier.


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