I'd be interested in thoughts on this falcon, seen today in eastern Hokkaido. Would like to know age and (potentially) subspecies too, if possible.
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Falcon, Hokkaido, Japan (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andrew Whitehouse
- Start date
lou salomon
the birdonist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_falcon
here it says about japonicus: "It is similar to peregrinus, but the young are even darker than those of anatum."
here it says about japonicus: "It is similar to peregrinus, but the young are even darker than those of anatum."
Hi Andrew,
I looked at this thread when it first appeared. That bird is astonishingly dark!
I don't have the experience to give strong opinions on raptors. But I assumed someone else with such experience would come in.
For myself, I wondered if it might be Peale's Falcon - the large version of Peregrine that specialises in seabirds for prey. But I've never seen one, and don't anyway have enough experience of even japonicus to know whether a dark young japonicus might be this dark or not.
Since there are no other replies, and it seemed to me a shame for the thread to go unanswered when the photos are so good, I asked a Japan-based birder with much, much more experience than me for his opinion, and he also went for Peale's as the most likely, saying that it was too dark for any japonicus or calidus (and also couldn't be Gyr).
I hope this helps, and now that the thread is back at the top, maybe someone else will spot it and give another opinion.
While I'm here, I send you and any others reading my best wishes for the holiday season and the coming year.
I looked at this thread when it first appeared. That bird is astonishingly dark!
I don't have the experience to give strong opinions on raptors. But I assumed someone else with such experience would come in.
For myself, I wondered if it might be Peale's Falcon - the large version of Peregrine that specialises in seabirds for prey. But I've never seen one, and don't anyway have enough experience of even japonicus to know whether a dark young japonicus might be this dark or not.
Since there are no other replies, and it seemed to me a shame for the thread to go unanswered when the photos are so good, I asked a Japan-based birder with much, much more experience than me for his opinion, and he also went for Peale's as the most likely, saying that it was too dark for any japonicus or calidus (and also couldn't be Gyr).
I hope this helps, and now that the thread is back at the top, maybe someone else will spot it and give another opinion.
While I'm here, I send you and any others reading my best wishes for the holiday season and the coming year.
foresttwitcher
Virtually unknown member
The general opinion on the Kantori Facebook group is that it is a Peale's.
Thanks for the comments everyone (and the Christmas greetings!). Yes, the consensus seems to be that this is an immature Peale's Peregrine and, having looked through various photos, it seems a reasonable option. It was quite a freaky looking bird and certainly unlike any other immature Peregrines I've seen.
