ML115027161

Age and sex

Adult Female - X

Media notes

Female seen in the evening

Observation details

Possibly Pale Rosefinch recordings, UNID female Rosefinch PLEASE READ CHECKLIST COMMENTS! Comments from Peter Clement on email (08/09/2018): I think it is difficult to be certain about the identification of this bird. Whilst it may seem possibly ok on plumage there are one or two points of concern that I'm not entirely comfortable with. These are firstly, stance or posture, this bird appears to be quite long-legged whereas most Pale Rosefinches I've seen (and in most photos, including that of the male) are or show shorter tarsi with little sign of the thighs exposed as in this photo. The reason for this is that they shuffle around almost crouching on the ground when feeding. That said, however, it doesn't mean that they never do show a longer leg in some circumstances such as when alarmed or excited. Secondly this bird is also showing quite a long tail, which is possibly not too disproportionate but seems a little longer than I would have expected. Also in neither photo is it possible to get any idea of the feather structure of the tail and whether it has the same shaped tip as that of the male, though I would add that it may be in moult as it appears to be worn and the underparts are also rather loosely feathered. Thirdly, whilst I think the underparts are fairly plain and unstreaked it is difficult to be certain of this as the photo of the bird facing right appears to show rather fine or pale streaks on the breast which, if real, would preclude Pale Rosefinch but this may be more apparent than real. Fourthly, it is difficult to be certain of the size of this bird which without any comparison could be much larger than Pale Rosefinches are, the bill is possibly also a little too large or at least slightly larger or more conical than that of the male (and most of the birds I've seen in China). Finally, there is also an indication of a pale supercilium over and behind the eye which I don't think is right for female Pale Rosefinch though it might be an undescribed feature of female salimalii or it could be an immature. Overall I'm not convinced it is a Pale Rosefinch and would like more or better evidence to support the identity of the bird, possibly through comparison with specimens in a museum (assuming there are some in the BM or elsewhere of this taxa) especially in the absence of any photos. To me Pale Rosefinches are quite compact with a rounded head and no real neck or long legs (as in the male photo) but am willing to believe this may be due to circumstances shown by the bird when the photo was taken. Comment from James Eaton (16/09/2018): Yes, Pale Rosefinch. The shape of the bill is so distinct, almost bullfinch like but guess female is so grey because different race?

Technical information

Model

NIKON D500

Lens

200.0-500.0 mm f/5.6

ISO

140

Focal length

500 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

1920 pixels x 1280 pixels

Original file size

1.34 MB