Folks, here is what I wrote on another site regarding the identification. .... must admit that the first identification as Salvins was essentially auto response, reflex from seeing so many over the years in Chile. But of course one had to settle down and determine if that was in fact correct or not, all the while encouraging all to look and photograph. I went through various marks to identify it to the complex, and then why I thought it was a Salvins while on board. The points I looked at were: bill color; seemed too dark for White-capped (cauta/steadi lumped as one), in the field you could often not notice the darker tip, although clear in photos. Bill also eliminated Chatham, although admittedly that is not a well known species in younger ages. In Chile we see relatively young birds rarely and they have noticeable yellow elements on the bill, along cutting edge, overall tint, as well as a more defined dark bill tip from the same issue of a yellower tinted base versus tip, unlike in young Salvins which can look almost unicolored on the bill in the field. The young Chathams also have a darker neck color, more saturated, and while the forehead is paler, it is more restricted, on at least one bird I recall it was greyish-white so not very noticeable. The head pattern on the California bird was essentially typical for Salvins. I dont know if this is the case of the color causing an illusion, but Chatham look in the field to be thicker billed than Salvins, the California bird again looked standard for Salvins. I have never knowingly seen a White-capped at any age, so I welcome the information above. But apart from the dark primary bases on the underwing, and the bill color, I did think that the head/neck pattern would be different more restricted dark on the nape. I do not know if this is a good mark, but photos I have looked at often show a darker and browner half collar on the neck base, reminiscent of the pattern in young Black-browed, while Salvins are more evenly colored on the neck. I welcome more comments
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 17:54:01 +0000
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