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Asian/Northern House Martin

Asian/Northern House Martin

21-11-2009
Pui O





THX for viewing!!

[ Last edited by jaclau at 29/11/2009 22:51 ]

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I think all but the first photo are Northern House Martin.  I guess these are photos of the same bird posted a few days ago (which Mike Turnbull considered to be Northern, and which I did not!).  If so, sorry Mike, you are right and I was wrong!

There is no black below the bill, the underwing coverts are not black, the tail is long, and the underparts are very white except for an indistinct darker wash to the sides of breast.

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Actually Paul, I find these photos very informative, and I just felt the first photos appeared, in two shots at least, to show a bird with too extensive and too "gleaming white" a rump to be Asian - then the second set looked like Asian. It seems now that both species were present.

As I said these shots are much clearer and I think I would have gone for Asian for the first and then wondered about the others, favouring Northern on the basis of the last two and the black-white distribution on the head, but concerned about the colour of the underwing coverts in shots two and three - though as you say, Paul, they're not black. The depth of the tail-fork does not appear to be very helpful as an indicator.

I take it the last shot is indicative of moult being underway and the bird being likely to have been subject only to relatively short-distance movement.

Is it lagopodum?

Again I think scrutiny of the occasional small winter flocks of House Martins we get may lead to more Northerns being seen.

Mike Turnbull

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Mike and Paul, Thank you!

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