- Lesser
- Mealy
- Coues' Arctic
- Hornemann's Arctic
Feel free to distribute it as you see fit if you want to do so. You can simply read it here on Blogger or you can Download it below. If you have any comments or think there is something I have missed out or some information that you deem to be not factual then please get in touch. Other than that enjoy!
Redpoll Identification
Until next time, Foghorn out!
Fantastic stuff Andrew, looks like you put a lot of effort into that and it is certainly very informative and helpful. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteKnow you have mentioned this, but I found the buffish tonings to the cheeks and face to be very prevalent on the Hornemann's I saw on Fair Isle last year (as you can see in my record pic) and certainly seems to be a key feature in terms of identification between exilipes and hornemanni as you have stated. Indeed, this bird was as you say also considerably larger than the Mealies and Lessers round about it (see pic below):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/josephbirdphotography/5105061911/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Another feature I think is important to note that you haven't mentioned, especially in Hugh Harrop's above pic of a Hornemann's is the heavy feathering round the legs, which effectively seems to 'cloak' the upper legs (the tarsi I think?). In the above pics and others I've seen of Coues's I haven't had the same impression of heavy feathering and cloaking around the upper legs. The Hornemann's I saw in Fair Isle was, although mostly seen on the ground, very heavily feathered round the legs.
To further illustrate this for example, take the Hornemann's here:
http://www.birdguides.com/picture?f=267429
And the Coues's here:
http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?v=1&f=319789 .
The heavier feathering round the legs on the Hornemann's is clearly shading the top of the legs, where as the feathering appears quite noticeably less heavy on the Coues's. Having looked at various pics of both subspecies and seen hornemanni this seems to me a quite a good ID feature when seperating Coues's from Hornemanni. I am no Redpoll expert, but this is just something I've noticed in a number of pics that may be worth pointing out.
I've also noticed from the pics above and elsewhere that the bill seems slightly longer in Hornemann's than on Coues's, and the tail looks a shade longer on Hornemann's too. However of course Arctic Redpolls like all Redpolls do vary so the abovementioned features will all vary. Hope my suggestions help!
Cheers,
Joseph
Hi Joseph,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for your kind comments, when it comes to a review of this article I will be sure to add it about the feathers tasi. I have left that out (Doh!). Coues' do show this feature and it is variable however it would appear that in most HArctics this feature is more predominant than it is in Coues'.
Coues' are the harder ones, hope you get a chance to see the Titchwell bird as it looks very educational. Plumage wise (aside from the rump) a very similar bird wintered at Rainton Meadows the winter gone.
Cheers,
Hi Andrew
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have any worries about identifying hornemanns tbh, they are the size of feckin mistle thrushes !!....... Well you know what I mean, the last one I saw was with rostrata redpolls and it looked bigger, a real monster !
I’ve seen exilipes with plain buffy looking faces similar to hornemanns, I think the difference may be in how that buffy face looks on the bird overall, hornemanns appearing like a clean white bird with an obvious contrasting buffy face, but exilipes perhaps looking more subtle and less bright/contrasty. Having said that check out the pics of that exilipes in Beds last winter, very buffy faced and white looking.
Re- tarsi feathering, a word of caution, if you remember last winter, many of those grey/white mealys seemed to show well feathered tarsi......
Also worth noting that exilipes can sometimes show 3 streaks on UTCs (often 1st yrs), usually a central fine streak with a couple of even finer ‘ghost streaks’ either side. In these cases streak shape and the usual combination other supporting features will be important.
Finally, they’re all the same species and should be lumped..... See ya.... 8)
Hi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteNot to worry, was a pleasure to help. Indeed, it does seem that this is one of the predominant features in Hornemann's.
Thanks mate, hoping to see this bird, would be nice to have seen both Hornemann's and Coues's in the field by the end of the trip. Certainly Coues's is the harder to ID, but Hornemann's seems to be a Northern Isles phenomenon, must be the major want for mainland birders.
Joseph
Thanks to Stringer and Joseph,
ReplyDeleteStringer: Cheers mate, will add in the bit about UTC's showing some fine lines either side of narrow dark shaft streak. I new I would miss something out. :)
Joseph: Thanks for comments and no doubt bump into you again soon, give me a shout when your down in God's own county of Durham.