ML132909911

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This was a well-marked bird, yet its plumage coloration seemed muted for an adult male of this species. The forehead, crown, nape, and back were a shade or two lighter than medium-gray. I thought this same color extended down to the lores and the upper edge of the superciliary region behind the eye, but at times it appeared that the latter was a little paler than the crown above and the auriculars below. The lores, from the base of the bill back to the eye, were distinctly darker than the rest of the head, but they were not sharply demarcated, and I noted no obvious indication of darker auriculars. The back of the neck was the same shade as the crown, but the darker gray extended only to about the midway point on the neck before blending to the chalky-white that characterized the throat, submoustachial and moustachial regions, and the foreneck and breast. As far as I could determine, the whiter color of the throat continued up onto the lower part of the face to the dark lores, the lower edge of the eye, and apparently also the lower part of the auriculars. When seen from the front, this bird appeared almost entirely whitish below, and in fact, I never noted more than a faint, peach wash to the flanks and undertail coverts, with the breast and belly both appearing essentially white and unmarked. The underwing coverts appeared to be primarily a pale, peach color. Clearly evident were some bright-red feathers just under the shoulder that I assume represented the axillaries, but I could not really be sure given my views. What I can say is that the portion of the underwings that was typically visible in the partly spread wings showed very little red. The light gray of the back and scapulars contrasted conspicuously with the sooty-blackish color that characterized the wing coverts and remiges. The coverts may have been a touch more brownish and the remiges more black, but the distinction between the two was minimal. I noted at times up to three sets of paler fringes on the coverts, these presumably representing the lesser, median, and greater coverts, all visible in the slightly spread wings. The fringes appeared to be narrow, indistinct, and only slightly paler and more buffy than the centers of these feathers, which resulted in a faintly scaled pattern and a slightly more apparent suggestion of three lines crossing the upper part of the wing. The innermost three secondaries were black with edges of white that were narrow yet well-defined, but I further noted that the two innermost secondaries were missing on the bird's right wing, which appeared to have only the longest "tertial." The other remiges were blackish, if not truly black, and with only narrow and relatively indistinct fringes to the secondaries that appeared as a panel of fine striping in the middle part of the wing. I never clearly saw on the primaries either pale edges or tips. The medium-gray color of the upper back blended to slaty, if not blackish, on the rump and uppertail coverts. The central pair or two of rectrices were entirely black when seen from above. The longer feathers appeared to be black centrally, but with a broad, white fringe along the outer edge that extended at least most of the way out the longest, outer feathers, yet I think the tip of the intact, right feather was entirely black. The bill appeared to be entirely black, and without the pale base that I often see on the lower mandible in this species. I saw the eyes only as quite dark, but the legs and feet were black.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

320

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/3200 sec

Dimensions

2619 pixels x 1904 pixels

Original file size

4.17 MB