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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. S

    Unusual 'Yellow' Wagtail, Matzu Islands, Taiwan, April 2024

    This odd-looking wagtail is being treated by some as a Western Yellow Wagtail, the thinking presumably being that it is an intraspecific hybrid with ssp. feldegg and some other form. The call, though, excludes feldegg, but is an excellent match for Citrine Wagtail. The broad white fringes to the...
  2. S

    Bleached and worn Buteo, SW Taiwan, July

    I would greatly appreciate any comments on this unseasonal first-summer buzzard I first came across yesterday and which I'm quite puzzled by! Thanks! Steve
  3. S

    Adult summer Calidris SP, Tainan, Taiwan, August 2020

    I'm guessing this oddball is a Red-necked Stint with something peculiar going on in its genes rather than a hybrid. Is there a 'correct' term for the condition of this bird (that I can Google and find out more about it)? Thanks, Steve
  4. S

    Riparia SP, Tainan, Taiwan, August: Age?

    I thought I'd ask as it doesn't hurt to do so... I'm interested in how contributors see the 'old' greater coverts (about ready to drop) I've highlighted in the attached Riparia martin. To me, they look like juvenile feathers on account of the broad pale fringes. It's the same bird, BTW, just...
  5. S

    Juvenile/Second-year Frigatebird, Tainan Taiwan May 2020

    I think this is an 'older' juvenile frigatebird as the black breast sides/tabs have not yet been replaced with white. I thought it must be Great Frigatebird in the field due to the shape of the belly patch (large and rounded below the breast tabs) and the absence of white axillary spurs...
  6. S

    Phylloscopus from Tainan, Taiwan, April 2020

    Presumably a Two-barred Warbler, I find the colour scheme of this one peculiar (although it may be being affected by surrounding foliage). I’ve only seen autumn Two-barreds before, and they’ve tended to appear a lot more contrasty. The wingbar also looks short. There were some vocalisations: a...
  7. S

    Some swiftlets from Taiwan (September 2019)

    Both of these birds turned up yesterday morning (in SW Taiwan) following south-westerly winds brought by a tropical storm moving northwards off the east coast of Taiwan. There were four swiftlets in total that I could see, but there may well have been more as the flock of feeding hirundines they...
  8. S

    Some Riparia martins from Taiwan (September 2018)

    These are from Tainan City, SW Taiwan at around this time last year (the first two weeks of September). Would anyone care to have a go at them? I'd also be interested to know what age people thought these birds were. Thanks, Steve
  9. S

    'Environmental Clearance' for Subic Bay (i.e. Birdwatching Permit)

    Hopefully of use to independent travellers who intend to visit the Subic Bay area... Depending on where you look, there is considerable confusion over whether or not a permit is required to go birding in Subic Bay. We (a party of just two) got stopped twice by police patrols there last week...
  10. S

    Swinhoe's Snipe? Tainan County, Taiwan August

    Pictures are not the best, I'm afraid! The snipe on the left in the first photo shows both more white in the tail and a more patterned tail than I typically see on Swinhoe's Snipe. I've enlarged this bird and pasted the bird on the right (for me, a typical Swinhoe's Snipe) next to it for...
  11. S

    Rufous Night Heron or hybrid? Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Hi all ... I'd be interested in any comments on the bird in the link below, mostly as I cannot decide whether to twitch it or not! http://www.tanews.org.tw/info/15207 Superficially, it looks like a straightforward Rufous Night Heron, albeit one with a broad pale forehead band, a washed out...
  12. S

    Third-winter Larus, Chiayi County, Taiwan, December 2017: Vega Gull?

    I've had this rather distinctive individual identified as a third-winter Vega Gull all winter but have always been bothered by it for some reason. It is (was, as it's now long gone) a lightly built individual and one which seemed to have completed its primary moult way in advance of the other...
  13. S

    First-winter Larus, Chiayi County, Taiwan: Mongolian or not?

    This highly distinctive (and very large) first-winter gull arrived here at least a month ago pretty much 'as is'. I've oscillated between Mongolian and Taimyr Gull for it, but did settle on the former based on replaced (so, early) whitish scapulars (which also show some signs of wear)...
  14. S

    Choshi/Hachijo-jima February

    Hi all, I'm currently contemplating a February trip to the above destinations and have a few questions I hope somebody out there can help with. Firstly, regarding Choshi, are the gulls there generally close (as in a UK harbour) or distant (as they unfortunately tend to be here in Taiwan)? I'd...
  15. S

    Booted Warbler, Ilan County, NE Taiwan

    I thought this was a yakutensis Willow Warbler when I received (from the finder) Batch #1 of photos based on what appeared to be greyish upperparts, weak yellow tones below, a good length primary projection, and a notched tail. The very pale legs I put down to the bird being strongly backlit...
  16. S

    Sand Martin ageing tutorial request!

    Not a question about a ring but I think one for a ringer! I originally thought that this bird would have to be an adult due to the active moult in the primaries, but have since read that juvenile Sand Martin has a complete post-juvenile moult. The unmoulted remiges and rectrices seem to have...
  17. S

    Sand Martins, Tainan County, Taiwan

    I'm quite happy that the more bulky-looking individual (left, top, A respectively) is a Sand Martin, but what about the scrawny-looking one? Is this just excessively worn, some kind of runt, or a Pale Martin? It is quite distinctive whatever it is! Any comments welcome!
  18. S

    Cloacal protuberance of Riparia chinensis

    This might not be the right place to post this question, but I'm hoping an answer will be here. Attached is an image of a dead Riparia chinensis picked up as a roadside corpse. Can the sex of the bird be determined by the cloacal protuberance in this instance? It both looked and looks quite...
  19. S

    Another Large Gull SP., Chiayi County, Taiwan: Another thayeri wing pattern.

    I was more than willing to accept that Individual #1 (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=339498) could only really be a vegae with a thayeri-like P9. The most obvious plumage detail 'out' for thayeri seemed to be the absence of a 'string of pearls' through the outer primaries (which no...
  20. S

    Big Gulls in Taiwan

    Rather than continually badger those (very helpful) guys over in the Q&A, I thought I'd start a thread here to present some of the bigger gulls (problem or otherwise) that I'm coming across whilst living in Taiwan. I'll start with the attached photo (taken this afternoon), in which most of the...
  21. S

    Another Large Gull SP., Tainan County, Taiwan: taimyrensis or mongolicus?

    Apologies if this is getting boring! This is the last one that's bothering me (for now at least). I'm pretty sure this bird is just a very 'frosted-looking' first-winter taimyrensis due to fairly small (but still worryingly obvious) predominantly brownish-looking window on the inner primaries...
  22. S

    Another Large Gull SP., Tainan County, Taiwan: vegae or something else?

    After a 'Mongolian' Gull with a Caspian Gull-like wingtip last week (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=3521286#post3521286), I'm growing increasingly confused by this lot at the moment! Today's puzzle looked like nothing more than a nice adult Vega Gull from range, albeit one at the...
  23. S

    Large Gull SP., Chiayi County, Taiwan: mongolicus or (eastern) cahinnans?

    Not sure if these two can ever be separated with any degree of confidence anyway. This bird was present with several adult mongolicus and did not stand out in any way from them until it flew, when decidedly 'streaky' outer wing became apparent. This is the first mongolicus (of rather many) I...
  24. S

    American x Eurasian Wigeon? American Wigeon? (Drake: Kinmen Island, Taiwan)

    The reddish tones to the rear eye stripe seem to scream hybrid for this bird! Aside from this, though, the bird shows none of the traces of hybridisation typically shown by other hybrid drakes (or at least those that have occurred here), e.g. 'solid' (unstreaked) red areas on the face, grey in...
  25. S

    Narcissus-type Flycatcher, SW Taiwan, Oct 2016

    I'd appreciate any comments on this 'Narcissus' Flycatcher found over this last weekend which I'm finding a bit head-scratchy at the moment. It arrived with 3 other Narcissus which were all straightforward narcissina. I'm puzzled by the extent of yellow below (which to my eye looks extensive)...
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