OCTOBER 2009'S MYSTERY BIRD ANSWERS

Twenty-one entries in another head-scratcher of a round was a decent return but was it as difficult as it appeared? Did many of you even find it difficult at all? In fact, was there to be a trick in the tail of these mystery birds or not...

Mystery Bird 19

As with last month's opening mystery bird, this too was a raptor but moving on from last month all bar none managed to atleast identify it that far. On the face of it, this looks pretty much straight forward. Blackish primaries, rather rufous look to it and an obvious pale head, it must be a Red Kite. So thought thirteen entrants but lets look again. Red Kite has fully black primaries and primary coverts too on the upper wing but this bird appears to show an element of pale feathering to the bases of the outer primaries and rather contrastingly browner primary coverts. The mystery bird too has very pale looking lesser coverts lending to the pale leading edge look of the wing, again, in contrast to the darker rufous leading edge of a Red Kite. There's a certain amount of subtlety involved in the next erroneous feature for Red Kite but to my eyes the bill seems disproportionately small for that species (more obvious on the larger competition photo I admit). I'm afraid to say that Red Kite it is not! So what of the other entries? Kestrel; not such a bad choice really as the bird is in sunlight somewhat but once again a male (which is what it would have to be) would have a fully black outer upperwing and would never appear quite so pale and contrasty on the upperparts as our bird. Marsh Harrier managed a couple of entries, though I'm not sure I'd run the same species two months on the trot! Either way, a male bird could match our mystery bird to some degree but once again the upperwing is rather patchy, lacking grey on the greater coverts and the head does appear to be just too pale. Overall it just doesn't fit right with that species, so it to is out. Two other harrier species got a mention, Pallid and Montague's, so what of they? Neither is there or thereabouts really. Males are grey and our bird is not. 'Ringtails' lack the contrasting pale head and forewing so they're not right either. Clearly this is more difficult that it first appeared. Rough-legged Buzzard received a sole entry but again, although it fits the overall jizz of the bird to my eyes, the absolute paleness of the head and forewing don't sit right for that species. This bird, whatever it is, is an absolute mystery! It has a plumage which seems to fit nothing currently on the British List, so time to look at it from another angle. What raptor species could possible show such a degree of variation away from the norm? Another image of the same mystery bird is below. Any closer with this one?

Anything more obvious now? The whole upperparts are very pale (although a small degree of bleaching of colours in the image is at play here), the white in the bases of the outer primaries is restricted to only the outer two or three at the most but now the whole jizz of the bird has a much more familiar look about it. Still, it fits little of the expected plumages of those raptors on the British List, so once again the question is; what raptor species could possible show such a degree of variation away from the norm? A further and hopefully conclusive photo of the same bird appears below.

Is the beast more identifiable now? It's jizz seems instantly recognisable as a Common Buzzard but it's plumage rather different to that we might expect. To answer that question though, it is Common Buzzard that could show such a degree of variation away from the norm, for that is what our mystery bird is!

Extremely pale birds such as the juvenile involved in our mystery bird are usually quite uncommon in the county atleast, but there seems to have been somewhat considerably more that usual noted this autumn with ones or twos seen at Birtle, Astley/Chat Moss and the Wigan Flashes. The question you should ask yourself is this; had you briefly seen the bird as in the initial image above, say from a moving vehicle (as has occurred several times before in the county) or as the bird disappeared behind some trees (you get the picture), what would you have claimed it as? Red Kite probably and you would clearly not have been alone. Although the features to identify this bird were present from the image (or atleast to narrow it down), occasionally we underestimate the variability of Common Buzzard (and how difficult it is to estimate size on a lone bird high up in the sky) and considering the current widespread nature of their distribution, the frequency of which we might encounter them in the county and our former underestimation of their complete plumages, it clearly has the potential to confuse for real! Another image of the same bird is again below and here we see that it's underparts are basically completely white save for dark fingers, trailing edge to the wing and small carpal mark. This individual is obviously a complete oddball! The original observer and photographer of the bird commented that for all intents and purposes the bird looked almost completely white to the naked eye which might bring about a whole different misidentification!

Only two entrants out of twenty-one managed to identify this mystery bird correctly and the honours go to Caroline Clay and Nick Godden.

Common Buzzard, Birtle, Bury, September 2009 (all above photos by Phil Jennison)

Mystery Bird 20

Okay, you're probably all really bored after reading that long-winded explanation for mystery bird 19 so let's keep this one quick. Mystery bird 20 is obviously a passerine (so it's not a raptor or a gull you'll be very pleased to hear!) and there a few features about it which should bring about it's swift identification (if only it were that easy of course!). They are:

1. The bill is noticeably and very distinctively broad based and triangular when viewed from below as we have here.
2. The underparts are a pale creamy-white with some quite distinct (look again a bit harder if you can't see them) darker brown streaks across the breast only.
3. The head and ear coverts looks uniformly mid-brown with a small black beady eye and there appears to be a slightly darker brown malar stripe.
4. The primaries are very long indeed. Check their length from the primary underwing coverts and you'll see just how long they really are.

Six species were offered as answers to the puzzle and one or more of the above features eliminate them all, so out goes Collared Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Booted Warbler, Garden Warbler (2 votes) and Nightingale (2 votes). The remainder of the thirteen entries all went for Spotted Flycatcher and with good reason, because that's exactly what it is!

Spotted Flycatcher, Elton Reservoir, September 2009 (Paul Wilson)

It was a good, difficult round but only two entrants managed to identify both species correctly and fair play to them both of them for that superb achievement. Stand up and take a bow Caroline Clay and Nick Godden.

The overall standings remain unchanged as all the leaders dropped a point and so Paul Brown keeps his nose in front as we enter the last two rounds of the 2009 competition. What with North Ronaldsay being so incredibly quiet of late (tempting fate for you again there Paul ☺), can he be caught by his closest rivals? What for the next instalment...