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Eswatini Hlane NP - historical (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter spocki
- Start date
Bewick
Well-known member
To repeat: Not to me. It lacks the chest streaking and the long legs, and the bill, and the face pattern. Nothing that I can see says Thick-knee. Look at my blown-up version in post #3
my first impression was a Falcon of some sort..
It seems to have a rufous crown and black primaries; how about Red-necked Falcon? Given that it's in the background, details of chest barring, for example might have been reduced in the processing of the photo.
Or Lanner - but I'm not sure that other details of the bird colouring suit this?
Spocki - is this a digital original (in which case the colour balance should be the same around the whole photo, I think) or a scan of a traditional photo, slide or negative (in which case maybe some background colours were altered in the scanning process)?
Red-necked isn't at eSwatini, but Lanner is. If I had to suggest a species, which I can't with the op and your images, it would be the latter.
It's very near according to e-bird
Well, maybe someone else will have an opinion. I really can't see Thick-knee here anyway.
spocki
Well-known member
It's the digital original.
Because of the geography, including the Drakenberg escarpment extending through the western part of the country, it is reasonably still isolated in many respects. Not as much as Lesotho, but it may as well be far away. According to Eswatini bird checklist - Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World Red-necked isn't on the list. Red-footed is and of course the regionally ubiquitous Lanner. CBD Sixth National Report - Eswatini (English version) - sz-nr-06-en.pdf gives an interesting insight to the endism that occurs through the Drakensberg range.
I can't either. I dont see the dark and white stripe that goes through the top of the folded wing, ( there is darkish stripe, a gap and a lightish stripe (might be artefact) but not like the Water Thick-knee), or the long legs, even when sitting there should be 2 parallel yellow-yellowish-beige, light brown (take your pick). The head has a darkish crown bordered by an even darker area under which the are lighter cheeks etc. instead of brownish and uniform thoughout the head and the eye looks small. The only thing I can see that is similar is the dark area below or on the lower edge of the wing, but it seems to be too thin for Water Thick-knee, the only thick-knee that might have even a slight similarity, imvho.
Its a pity there was no other input here for you spocki, but reading through the threads, a few that I have started for the region, there is not much contribution for the majority of them. It is what it is. May be its a less travelled part of the world for our members...
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spocki
Well-known member
I'm reading all contributions with great interest anyway. Lots to learn! And I remember my excursions to Hlane with great fondness. Haven't checked the 2nd trip yet, there might be something even weirder lurking behind the rhinos...
Though the image looks wierd, not even entirely sure which way the head is looking, I am in the Water Thick-knee camp - not only is it a common bird at that waterhole, but this image gives the impression that the bird could be the right size, plus the correct general colour and, broadly, the wing pattern is there.
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It just plain isn't. And, apart from being too grey and with the wrong wing pattern, it's bright white right up to the throat, which water thick-knee isn't. It's simply unidentifiable.
"just plain isn't" 😅
I disagree with you. I see the bird potentially angled slightly towards us. The back colour, as far as discernable, can be close to correct colour. The 'too grey' is potentially the upper wing panel, bordered above by darker and having the dark at the bottom. Allowing for the poor image, I don't see the wing pattern being wrong.
As for bright white throat, I agree not correct for Water Thick-knee, but since I can't even be sure which way it is looking, this could easily be ruffled feathers.
In the absence of better photos however, also agree a definitive answer is unlikely
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Using MacNara's image in #7, I put the bird's tail lower right and its head upper left, with it looking over it's left shoulder almost directly at us at us. It either has a plump white belly, or well feathered tibia and greyish upperparts. The tarsi are angled from high righ to low left.
I could be wrong and the head is nearest us at low right. Which would mean grey above a black eye stripe and white below, with a large reddish bill.
I could be wrong and the head is nearest us at low right. Which would mean grey above a black eye stripe and white below, with a large reddish bill.
There's a blob of blackish mush on what might be a head facing in an unknown direction.
No. Just no. There's no visible bill, it's not large, and there's nothing reddish that isn't either background or artefact.
What about the large purple-pink patch on the 'wing'... what should we turn that into?
Difficult to believe this dialogue is even happening.
Butty, you don't have to join in if you don't feel like trying to solve the puzzle here. Its easy to be negative though, eh?
The black eye stripe would be on the lower right, if the head is in that direction, as I said. If the head is to the top left, then the large reddish bill is actually a tail or shadow and the colouration is probably artefact.
As Jos says, we can't even be sure which direction the bird is aligned in, but it might be useful suggesting different aspects to try and solve this conundrum. quoting little bits of text and mixing them up isn't very helpful. There is a clear black line that could be an eye stripe slightly curving around the potential head where an eye stripe would be expected if it was the head on the lower right. It is not a blob of blackish mush, whatever that means. Personally, I think the head is upper left, as I again clearly stated.
The black eye stripe would be on the lower right, if the head is in that direction, as I said. If the head is to the top left, then the large reddish bill is actually a tail or shadow and the colouration is probably artefact.
As Jos says, we can't even be sure which direction the bird is aligned in, but it might be useful suggesting different aspects to try and solve this conundrum. quoting little bits of text and mixing them up isn't very helpful. There is a clear black line that could be an eye stripe slightly curving around the potential head where an eye stripe would be expected if it was the head on the lower right. It is not a blob of blackish mush, whatever that means. Personally, I think the head is upper left, as I again clearly stated.
