This presumed hybrid Eurasian Wigeon / Pfeifente (Anas penelope) x Mallard / Stockente (Anas platyrhynchos) has been wintering in Vienna since at least 2012 (there seem to be no sightings from summer, which points to …
Continue readingKategorie: Identification
Great Tit mimicking calls of Siberian Chiffchaff
While Great Tit / Kohlmeise (Parus major) rather frequently imitates the calls of Common Chiffchaff / Zilpzalp (Phylloscopus collybita collybita) – see recordings here – I’ve not heard it giving a (to my ears) rather …
Continue readingA male-like female Reed Bunting
Some female Common Reed Buntings / Rohrammern (Emberiza schoeniclus) approach the visual appearance of males. This is one such bird that initially caused some confusion. But its head is blackish-brown, not black as in males …
Continue readingPlumage variation in female Red-backed Shrikes
Females of Red-backed Shrike / Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) show some variety of plumage features. While the „typical“ female has a brown head and nape with a slight grey tinge and medium (reddish) brown ear coverts, …
Continue readingThe winner of the Eastern Marsh Harrier look-alike contest
The plumage of Western Marsh Harriers / Rohrweihen (Circus aeruginosus) can be amazingly variable thanks to different morphs, individual variation and depending on sex and age. Some variation in adult male Western Marsh Harriers: I …
Continue readingAerial display of Black Hawk-Eagle
While watching raptors over Los Tarrales (Suchitepéquez, Guatemala) in January 2020, I got these record shots of the striking flight display of an adult Black Hawk-Eagle / Schwarzer Haubenadler (Spizaetus tyrannus). The (male?) bird was …
Continue readingAge-related differences in iris color in Band-backed Wren
Band-backed Wren / Tigerzaunkönig (Campylorhynchus zonatus) is a large wren distributed from Mexico to Ecuador where it also frequents high altitudes up to 3000 m. It breeds cooperatively, which means that breeding pairs get help …
Continue readingA Whimbrel with (somewhat) barred rump on Fuerteventura
I came across this Whimbrel / Regenbrachvogel (Numenius phaeopus) during a trip to Fuerteventura/Canary Islands, in March 2019. Its barred rump and upper tail coverts let me think of the Nearctic race „Hudsonian“ Whimbrel (Numenius …
Continue readingAn Oriole in December in Iran
On 16 December 2019 I encountered this (juvenile) Oriole / Pirol (Oriolus sp.) with Martin Suanjak on Qeshm island, Iran. The bird was in short-term company of six Dark-throated Thrushes / Schwarzkehldrosseln (Turdus atrogularis). We …
Continue readingAshy Drongos in Iran
Edit: These and other records of Ashy Drongo in Iran have been published here. Reminded by the first Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) for Israel, I finally took another look at the Drongos we recorded in …
Continue reading