hmartin

This looks to be an ex-captive bird. This picture was taken yesterday and is of the same individual. Note extensive damage to the longest primary of the left wing. This corresponds to the light area at this position in the original photographs posted by Herman, pictures 2 and 3. Note also primary tip damage to the longest primary of the left wing, in picture 4 of Herman's original post.

[ Last edited by hmartin at 2/12/2013 18:42 ]

hmartin

Whilst this sort of damage presumably could occur naturally, it's hardly the sort of thing you would like to see on a potential first record of an out of range species.

hmartin

We are maybe talking at cross purposes here. I'm not referring to "web splitting", but to say a quarter inch of barbs missing from the inner web of the longest primary of the left wing. This feather is partly obscured by the primaries of the right wing in the picture I posted. As such this damage would be visible with any generation of camera, including film cameras.

In 15 years of bird photography I don't have any shots of passerines, that I can think of, that show this level of damage, other than the Autumn Long Valley Japanese Waxwing of many many years ago. This of course was subsequently ruled to be ex-captive. It would be interesting to hear from other photographers about the levels of damage that they have documented in undoubtedly wild birds.

Anyway, ultimately one for the Records Committee to sort out.

[ Last edited by hmartin at 4/12/2013 03:37 ]