Grey-bellied Brent? (Gann Estuary, Pembrokeshire, West Wales) (1 Viewer)

[dastins]

See pics & brief notes posted at http://pembsbirds.blogspot.com/.

Discuss.

 

[dastins]

Some more pics of this interesting bird at

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Richc28/GreyBrant?authkey=r4TUXpFCfkc#

 

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

Could be a Dark-bellied x Pale-bellied hybrid? I thought Grey-bellied tended to have neck collars similar in extent to Black Brant? May be wrong but I think I read it somewhere in Birding World, and the 2 in this morbid photo show it... http://www.ecoinfo.org/env_ind/region/brantgeese/images/Greybelly_Brant.gif

Jan

 

[Brett Spencer]

The morbid photo shows a Black Brant and a Grey-bellied Brant. As far as neck collars are concerned, they are variable on all forms of Brents and there is much overlap. As far as the Pembrokeshire bird is concerned, I'm sure if it were in Ireland, it would be claimed as a Grey-bellied Brant. On my local patch in Weymouth, there is a mixed pair of Dark-bellied and Pale-bellied with 4 intergrade/hybrid young. They had 4 young last winter as well. In past winters I've also observed intergrade/hybrid Dark-bellied x Black Brants. Although Grey-bellied Brant may well be a self sustaining intergrade/hybrid population itself, between Black Brant and Pale-bellied, this bird to my eye falls into the level of variation shown by Grey-bellied Brant. I don't think it is an intergrade/hybrid Dark-bellied x Pale-bellied on the basis it is not showing mixed characters suggestive of a Dark-bellied influence, i.e a grey tone in the upperparts. I don't know what the current thinking is on Grey-bellied Brant, but would certainly be interested to know.