ID-FRONTIERS for November 12-18, 2000

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Date   Time   Re: Greater Shearwater near WA   Dave Malachy    Sun, 12 Nov 2000   10:49pm   Re: Fuscus LBbGull   Peter Adriaens    Mon, 13 Nov 2000   1:51am   Re: Greater Shearwater near WA   Don Roberson    Mon, 13 Nov 2000   9:26am   Controversial "Veery"   Narca Moore-Craig&Al   Mon, 13 Nov 2000   9:54am   Tropical/Couch's KB wing forumlae   James H. Barton   Mon, 13 Nov 2000   2:08pm   Re: Fuscus LBbGull   Dick Newell    Mon, 13 Nov 2000   9:00pm   Re: Tropical/Couch's KB wing forumlae   Joseph Morlan    Mon, 13 Nov 2000   11:35pm   [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] more Hingham, MA Kingbird photos]   James H. Barton   Tue, 14 Nov 2000   7:10am   [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]   James H. Barton   Tue, 14 Nov 2000   7:27am   Re: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]   Bill or Sue Smith    Tue, 14 Nov 2000   8:05pm   Re: Controversial "Veery"   Alvaro Jaramillo    Wed, 15 Nov 2000   10:22am   Re: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]   Bill or Sue Smith    Wed, 15 Nov 2000   10:51am   Re: Controversial "Veery"   David Sibley    Wed, 15 Nov 2000   1:06pm   Fall updates/side-by-side PABUs   Don Roberson    Wed, 15 Nov 2000   8:12pm   LBBG Bill Color Variation   Noel Wamer    Thu, 16 Nov 2000   4:57pm   Re: LBBG Bill Color Variation   Bruce Mactavish    Fri, 17 Nov 2000   4:34pm   European Herring Gull In Ontario   Jean Iron    Sat, 18 Nov 2000   3:39pm   Molt timing in Calonectris shearwaters   Martin Reid    Sat, 18 Nov 2000   6:26pm

To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'. This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.

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Subject: Re: Greater Shearwater near WA
From: Dave Malachy <dm(AT)SPEAKEASY.ORG>
Date: 12 Nov 2000 10:49pm

> HI Bird Frontiers:
>   I just got word that a Greater Shearwater was seen near WA in Canadian
> waters last week and I was wondering how many records there are for the
> North Pacific of this species?
>
> Sincerely
> Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen
> Bainbridge Is., WA, USA
> ipaulsen(AT)linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us
> "Rallidae all the way"
>

I've been a biologist employed to collect these birds. You
can find detailed collections at the University of Washington,
Burke Museum in Seattle, WA. As well, the Friday Harbor Whale
Museum on the San Juan Islands has various intersting collections
and data to peruse.

David E. Hinz
PO Box 45531
Seattle, WA
98145, USA

296-675-4406


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Subject: Re: Fuscus LBbGull
From: Peter Adriaens <Peter.Adriaens(AT)KENDER-THIJSSEN.BE>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 1:51am

Hello Detlef, and Brian,

I think it's wiser not to identify any actively moulting Lesser Black-backed
Gull in Western Europe in autumn as a fuscus, ever. It is perfectly possible
for fuscus to be actively moulting, e.g. some inner primaries (often p1-2-3)
when leaving the breeding grounds (August - September), but the problem with
such birds is that they cannot safely be distinguished from some intermedius
(perhaps the more northern birds ?), which may also show a late moult.
Birds with interrrupted primary moult are much 'safer ' candidates.
I agree that the bird's moult score sounds more like intermedius.

Best regards,
Peter Adriaens

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: Daniela & Detlef Gruber [mailto:Daniela.Detlef.Gruber(AT)T-ONLINE.DE]
Verzonden: vrijdag 10 november 2000 23:18
Aan: BIRDWG01(AT)LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Onderwerp: Re: [BIRDWG01] Fuscus LBbGull

Dear Brian, Dear Birders,

Baltic Gulls at this time of season normally do not show such an advanced
moult
stage like this bird. Furthermore I have not seen any active moult in Baltic
Gulls on migration in Germany. But I know for certain that some intermedius
are
still in moult until the end of the year.

Best regards,
Detlef Gruber

Brian Small schrieb:
> All
>
> An adult gull, looking intrinsically like a fuscus Lesser Black-backed
Gull
> (or Baltic Gull if you prefer), was present yesterday and today on the
local
> pig fields.  Structurally and morphologically it was as close to fuscus as
> you can get, small and very black, with a velvet black bloom to the
scapulars
> (it ran around the roost rather like a plover). The following detailed
note
> of the primary moult was taken:
>
> P1 (innermost) to P5 new; P6 missing P7 to P10 old, but still very black
and
> fresher looking than older primaries present on a very few intermedius.
The
> primary moult score was 25.  When would a gull like this finish its moult?
>
> My question then is, can intermedius Lesser Black-backs ever have such a
> retarded moult by November 10th?  Reading Jonsson (in Birding World) it is
> hard to get an answer; a gull in Holland with P1 and P2 new in mid October
> has recently been accepted.
>
> Brian Small


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Subject: Re: Greater Shearwater near WA
From: Don Roberson <creagrus(AT)MONTEREYBAY.COM>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 9:26am

I am aware of only two prior records of Greater Shearwater in the north
Pacific, both on Monterey Bay: 24 Feb 1979 about 10 miles w. of Moss Landing
(J. Dunn, K. Garrett, Starr Saphir +) and another 1-2 Oct 1994 about 2 mi N of
Pt. Pinos (D. L. Shearwater, Gerry McChesney, Todd McGrath +). The latter bird
was photographed on 2 Oct. The first has been controversial and the Calif.
Bird Rec. Comm. has changed its position one or more times; however, I
consider the record adequately documented and will include both in the 2nd ed.
of "Monterey Birds" currently being written.

Don Roberson
Pacific Grove CA


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Subject: Controversial "Veery"
From: Narca Moore-Craig&Alan Craig <narca(AT)vtc.net>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 9:54am

Hello all--

I just read Matt Heindell's forward of Steve Howell's post on the Veery
ID article in the June 2000 issue of Birding--particularly the photo on
page 247. As further point supporting Steve's contention that the bird
is a Gray-cheeked Thrush, not a Veery, look at the shape and length of
the bill, and compare that with the bills of the Veeries in other photos
in that article. All the other Veeries in profile show a relatively
longer, slimmer bill.  In fact, the bill shape and proportions of the
controversial bird match those shown in the photos of Gray-cheeked
Thrush in the August 2000 issue of Birding. (To my eye, the bills of the
Bicknell's Thrushes in the Aug 2000 issue also seem more slender and
longer than those of the Gray-cheeked Thrushes.)

Might this be a useful field mark? I've never studied bill proportions
of Catharus thrushes in the field, but will be scrutinizing that from
now on.

Best regards,
Narca


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Subject: Tropical/Couch's KB wing forumlae
From: "James H. Barton" <redwing1986(AT)MEDIAONE.NET>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 2:08pm

    Friends, hello from MA where we are belaboring a Couch's/Tropical
Kingbird in Hingham.  I'm informed that there may be an error in Pyle's
ID Guide on page 258, in Figure 166.   A drawing labeled Tropical shows
p5 noticeably longer than p10.  A drawing labeled Couch's shows p5 much
shorter than p10.   Which is correct for which?

    The bird we're looking at doesn't show any notched primaries in the
photos available, presumably because it hasn't yet started to molt
them.  Does Pyle's wing formulae, shown for notched adult primaries,
work for young birds?

     Two photos of the bird in flight may be seen a
http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/rba/trki

    Thanks for your interest.

    Jim Barton
    redwing1986(AT)mediaone.net
    Cambridge, MA


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Subject: Re: Fuscus LBbGull
From: Dick Newell <Dick.Newell(AT)SMALLWORLD.CO.UK>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 9:00pm

Last week in Oman, I saw a single presumed adult fuscus. Not the 'typical'
small slim type of bird, also not absolutely black, showing a slight
contrast between coverts and primaries, but totally spotless white head and
neck. The wing was complete with 5 new inner and 5 old outer primaries. All
other white-headed gulls present (presumed barabensis (100's),cachinnans
(10's) and heuglini (a few)) had at least a streaky collar and were actively
moulting (i.e. had missing or growing primaries).
Dick Newell


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Subject: Re: Tropical/Couch's KB wing forumlae
From: Joseph Morlan <jmorlan(AT)CCSF.CC.CA.US>
Date: 13 Nov 2000 11:35pm

On Mon, 13 Nov 2000 16:08:02 -0500, "James H. Barton"
<redwing1986(AT)MEDIAONE.NET> wrote:

>    Friends, hello from MA where we are belaboring a Couch's/Tropical
>Kingbird in Hingham.  I'm informed that there may be an error in Pyle's
>ID Guide on page 258, in Figure 166.   A drawing labeled Tropical shows
>p5 noticeably longer than p10.  A drawing labeled Couch's shows p5 much
>shorter than p10.   Which is correct for which?

Corrections for Pyle have been posted at:

http://www.prbo.org/Errata.html

which states:

p. 253: The _>_ and _<_ symbols in Figure 166 should be reversed.
pp. 253-254: Note that the criteria in Figs. 167-168 and Table 5 apply
to  AHY/ASYs only. More study needed on these data in HY/SYs.
p. 254: In Table 5, Wg for Couch's Kingbird should be 115-131.

>    The bird we're looking at doesn't show any notched primaries in the
>photos available, presumably because it hasn't yet started to molt
>them.  Does Pyle's wing formulae, shown for notched adult primaries,
>work for young birds?

Apparently not.

--
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA 94044: mailto:jmorlan(AT)ccsf.org
California Birding; Mystery Birds: http://fog.ccsf.org/~jmorlan/
California Bird Records Committee: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/cbrc/


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Subject: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD]  more Hingham, MA Kingbird
         photos]
From: "James H. Barton" <redwing1986(AT)MEDIAONE.NET>
Date: 14 Nov 2000 7:10am

Friends, I've been asked to post notice of more Hingham, MA Couch's/Tropical KB
photos for your comments.   If you care to comment, please tell me whether I
can forward your comments to Massbird.

Andrew Joslin wrote:

> I've posted a few more photos of the World's End kingbird shot on Sunday
> afternoon 11/12.
> http://www.47custer.com/november_00/hingham_111200/
>
> Andrew Joslin
> Jamaica Plain, MA
> pixel(AT)world.std.com


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Subject: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]
From: "James H. Barton" <redwing1986(AT)MEDIAONE.NET>
Date: 14 Nov 2000 7:27am

           Friends, Marj. Rines and many others in MA would be grateful for your
 thoughts about the
audio clip available at the URL below.

    Yours,

    Jim Barton
    redwing1986(AT)mediaone.net
    Cambridge, MA

"Marj. Rines" wrote:

> Phil Brown was able to video the bird,
> and actually caught its vocalizations. He's sent me audio files (I've
> edited them considerably, as they were quite large, but I have them for
> anyone who wants to hear them), and I've posted these (along with a
> photo showing the wing extended) at:
>
> http://people.ne.mediaone.net/marjrines/Kingbird.htm
>
> Turn your speakers WAY up - we were a considerable distance from the
> bird, and there is a fair amount of noise, but the call is distinctly
> audible.

snip snip snip

> Marj. Rines
> Mailto:Marjrines(AT)mediaone.net
> Arlington, MA
> For more information on Massachusetts birding, visit:
> http://Massbird.Org/


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Subject: Re: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]
From: Bill or Sue Smith <birdsmiths(AT)hotmail.com>
Date: 14 Nov 2000 8:05pm

Anyone wishing to decide the identity of the vocalizations, indirectly
posted on this list by Jim Barton, for themselves can compare them to
vocalizations available via the following two websites:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4460id.html

vs.

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4461id.html

Cheers,

Bill Smith
-----------------
The Smiths                         "He who casts the vote decides nothing.
Grays Harbor, Washington USA  He who counts the vote decides everything."
birdsmiths(AT)hotmail.com                                         - Stalin


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Subject: Re: Controversial "Veery"
From: Alvaro Jaramillo <alvaro(AT)SIRIUS.COM>
Date: 15 Nov 2000 10:22am

At 09:53 AM 11/13/00 -0700, Narca Moore-Craig&Alan Craig wrote:
>Hello all--
>
>I just read Matt Heindell's forward of Steve Howell's post on the Veery
>ID article in the June 2000 issue of Birding--particularly the photo on
>page 247. As further point supporting Steve's contention that the bird
>is a Gray-cheeked Thrush, not a Veery, look at the shape and length of
>the bill, and compare that with the bills of the Veeries in other photos
>in that article. All the other Veeries in profile show a relatively
>longer, slimmer bill.  In fact, the bill shape and proportions of the
>controversial bird match those shown in the photos of Gray-cheeked
>Thrush in the August 2000 issue of Birding. (To my eye, the bills of the
>Bicknell's Thrushes in the Aug 2000 issue also seem more slender and
>longer than those of the Gray-cheeked Thrushes.)
>
>Might this be a useful field mark? I've never studied bill proportions
>of Catharus thrushes in the field, but will be scrutinizing that from
>now on.

Narca and BIRDWG01

   I don't know if bill proportions help out in figuring out these
thrushes. My guess is that geographic variation in a single character such
as bill size will be considerable, particularly for wide ranging species
such as Veery and Grey-cheeked Thrushes. But it is worth following up on. I
would suggest measuring specimens in the museum as your primary data set,
rather than field observation.

I wanted to just mention a couple of points about that Veery shot in
Birding, since I took the photo. First of all, it was taken in Aug.14, 1994
at Vaseux Lake, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. We banded only Veery and
Swainson's Thrush on that day, including juveniles of the latter. The Veery
is **the** species of Catharus which breeds in the willow thickets of
Vaseux Lake. Swainson's breeds a bit higher up and heads down to the willow
thickets after breeding. Fall migration for these species, at this site,
was likely just starting in mid August. There are no records of
Grey-cheeked thrush from the Okanagan Valley (Cannings et al. 1987. Birds
of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Royal BC Museum, Victoria - a
wonderful book by the way!), so if this bird is a Grey-cheeked Thrush it
would be a first record for the area and probably for the southern Interior
of British Columbia. I don't know when one should be expecting a vagrant
Grey-cheeked Thrush in S. British Columbia, but mid-August seems way too
early for this. Veeries on the other hand are common here in mid-August.
More convincing is needed to make this bird a Grey-cheek rather than a
Veery given the date and geographic locality.
         I don't have any measurements of the bird here but noted in my
notes that this bird was: "like a coastal Swainson's Thrush but with grey
flanks and no eyering. Spots on the breast were large unlike in eastern
birds". The darkness shown in the photo reprinted in Birding is partially
due to underexposure of the original and somewhat poor reproduction in the
magazine. Other photos I have of the bird show a distinct rufous tone to
the upperparts, particularly on the rump and lower back which is very
unlike that of Grey-cheeked Thrushes and I removed that species from
consideration in my mind. Its unfortunate that the photo turned out so
grey, that it effectively looks much closer to a Grey-cheeked than we would
have liked. This is a case of not trusting a single photo too much, the
real bird was not quite this grey. However, we do think that the variation
shown by Veery has been underestimated and birders need to be aware that
the classic Veery that they know from birding in the East is not so classic
further west. These birds are easily confused with Grey-cheeks or even
coastal Swainson's Thrushes, particularly by those who have not seen them
before. The character that is most consistently different in Western Veery
is the density of spotting, which is quite unlike that of eastern birds.
Yet many Western Veerys are really bright above and show much less spotting
on the underparts than others, this is a bit of a mystery to me. Within a
breeding region most Catharus are not all that variable, its between
different regions that they differ. Veerys tend to show more individual
variation within one site than other Catharus, at least at the West end of
their range.
         Finally, if you go to the Okanagan, do take a look at the
Swainson's Thrushes. The form here is so grey and lacking the typical warm
tones on the breast and face that unless you see the tail its easy to
confuse the birds for Hermit Thrushes. Even the flanks are grey, and the
breasts look almost whitish rather than buff. This form was separated as a
different race at one time, I am not sure what Phillips does with it. In
any case, its interesting to note that the greyest and least bright of the
Swainson's Thrush group is the one which geographically is closest to
ustulatus, the brightest and warmest plumaged of the group.

I really do think that Catharus ID has been underestimated and some of
these birds are at least at the Empidonax level of difficulty. Particularly
if one's frame of reference does not include experience with different
geographic forms of these species.

cheers,

Al

Alvaro Jaramillo
Biologist
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
P.O. Box 247
Alviso, CA 95002
(408)-946-6548

http://www.sfbbo.org/
Home of the California Fall Challenge!!

alvaro(AT)sirius.com

Birds of Chile and
New World Blackbirds at : http://www.sirius.com/~alvaro


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Subject: Re: [Fwd: [MASSBIRD] Hingham MA Kingbird audio]
From: Bill or Sue Smith <birdsmiths(AT)hotmail.com>
Date: 15 Nov 2000 10:51am

The following post may previously have vanished into cyberspace.

Anyone wishing to decide the identity of the vocalizations, indirectly
posted on this list by Jim Barton, for themselves can compare them to
vocalizations available via the following two websites:

 http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4460id.html

vs.

 http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4461id.html

Cheers,

Bill Smith
-----------------
The Smiths                         "He who casts the vote decides nothing.
Grays Harbor, Washington USA  He who counts the vote decides everything."
birdsmiths(AT)hotmail.com                                         - Stalin


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Subject: Re: Controversial "Veery"
From: David Sibley <dsibley(AT)SHORE.NET>
Date: 15 Nov 2000 1:06pm

I read Al Jaramillo's comments on the controversial Veery with great
interest. Clearly the identification of Catharus thrushes can be much
more challenging than we expect. I thought that the following comment:

> Yet many Western Veerys are really bright above and show much less spotting
> on the underparts than others,...

was particularly interesting and reassuring. I searched for days in
different places (British Columbia, Montana, Alberta, Texas in spring,
Florida in spring, and several museum collections) without ever finding
a strikingly drab Veery. Therefore in my guide I illustrated some subtle
variation and labelled it vaguely, but my feeling is that I've seen as
much variation among fall migrants at Cape May, NJ as I see anywhere.

I would be interested to read any comments about the frequency of very
drab birds like the one in Al's photo. Where have they been seen? how
many? etc. Are they widespread? a rare color morph? or a small local
population somewhere in the west? Perhaps part of the problem is simply
the difficulty of assessing subtle variations in redness vs brownness,
especially in photos.

David
--
David Sibley
355 Lexington Rd
Concord, MA 01742
dsibley(AT)shore.net
www.sibleyart.com


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Subject: Fall updates/side-by-side PABUs
From: Don Roberson <creagrus(AT)MONTEREYBAY.COM>
Date: 15 Nov 2000 8:12pm

Through the courtesy of Ivan Samuels, Jim Booker, and the Big Sur Ornithology
Lab, I have updated my Monterey County (Calif.) year 2000 highlights page with
photos of three imm. Painted Buntings shown side-by-side. It is interesting to
compare variation in this rare vagrant to the West Coast and I have a short
discussion/speculation on juvenal vs. supplemental plumage in western
populations of PABU following the photos. Add'l comments would be very
welcome. The page is at
http://montereybay.com/creagrus/MTY_2000.html

New "family" pages have been recently added as well (cracids, fairywrens,
skimmers etc.) and are easily accessed via the "What's New" page at
http://montereybay.com/creagrus/new.html

Many thanks for Ivan and Jim for arranging posting of the interesting photos.

Don Roberson
Pacific Grove CA


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Subject: LBBG Bill Color Variation
From: Noel Wamer <nwamer(AT)FCOL.COM>
Date: 16 Nov 2000 4:57pm

Yesterday (11/15/00) I observed two third basic/winter Lesser Black-backed
Gulls (graellsii) at Wards Bank, Duval County, Florida.  On both of these
birds the distal 1/3 of the bill was yellowish, and the proximal 2/3
darkish.  Having recently reviewed The Sibley, which points out a
completely opposite bill color pattern, I was rather puzzled by this.  A
little web searching revealed the following photographs of birds in this
plumage:

light tip
http://www.martinreid.com/lbbgp28.html

dark tip
http://www.martinreid.com/lbbgp14.html
http://home.wanadoo.nl/leojrboon/Gulls/lar_gra04.htm

yellow, w/red gonys spot
http://www.bway.net/~lewis/birds/Lessers/gull035.JPG

There is obviously considerable variation in the bill color pattern of
these birds as they mature.  Does anyone with more experience with this
species than I do care to comment on this?
Later...

Noel Wamer
nwamer(AT)fcol.com http://www.badbirdz.com
Jacksonville, FL, US   30.2820 -81.4972
"A strange bird may cause a slight unrest until it is named..."
                                                        (Walker Percy)


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Subject: Re: LBBG Bill Color Variation
From: Bruce Mactavish <bruce.mactavish1(AT)NF.SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 17 Nov 2000 4:34pm

Four of ten Lesser Black-backed Gulls I saw today at the dump in St. John's,
Newfoundland were 3rd winters.  I made a special point to look at the bill
pattern of each bird.  Generally the first impression of all four birds was
a dark bill and a pale yellow outer third.  On closer inspection each bird
showed variable yellowish patches breaking through the blackish basal two
thirds, mainly at the base of the lower mandible and along the cutting edge
of both mandibles.  I have photos of two 3rd winter LBBGs, one from October
and one from mid January. These also show bills with a pattern similar to
today's four birds and the two at Duval County, Florida.

Grant (1986) describes the bill of 3rd winters as 'like adult - usually
small dark subterminal mark or band', which is even less marked than the way
it is illustrated in the Sibley Guide.  Perhaps the bill reaches this stage
later in the third winter of life.

Bruce Mactavish
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
bruce.mactavish1(AT)nf.sympatico.ca


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Subject: European Herring Gull In Ontario
From: Jean Iron <jeaniron(AT)SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 18 Nov 2000 3:39pm

In the October 2000 issue of OFO News 18(3):1-7, I listed the next most
likely new species and subspecies of gulls to be recorded in Ontario. The
list included Black-tailed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Common (Mew) Gull,
Vega Herring Gull, Kelp Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull and European Herring Gull.

Michel Gosselin of the Canadian Museum of Nature reminded me that there is
a specimen of a European Herring Gull for Ontario. A first basic (first
winter) bird was collected by the National Museum at the Ottawa dump on 11
November 1974. Back then it was thought to be a young Lesser Black-backed
Gull. Juvenal and first basic European Herring Gulls (subspecies group
argentatus / argenteus) are much more similar to Lesser Black-backed Gull
than to the North American Herring Gull (subspecies smithsonianus).

Pierre Devillers of the Belgium Museum visited Ottawa 1986. He confirmed
that the Ottawa bird was a European Herring Gull, probably of the nominate
subspecies argentatus.

I'm posting this information because over the years we have seen several
adult Herring Gulls, especially along the Niagara River, that appeared to
be European Herring Gulls.

I thank Michel Gosselin who will be publishing a full account of this first
record of European Herring Gull in Ontario in an upcoming issue of Ontario
Birds.

Ron Pittaway
Co-editor, Ontario Birds

Jean Iron
President, Ontario Field Ornithologists
9 Lichen Place
Toronto, Ontario M3A 1X3
Canada
Phone: 416-445-9297
e-mail: jeaniron(AT)sympatico.ca
Web Page: http://www.interlog.com/~ofo


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Subject: Molt timing in Calonectris shearwaters
From: Martin Reid <upupa(AT)AIRMAIL.NET>
Date: 18 Nov 2000 6:26pm

Dear all,
I've been sent a photo of a shearwater that looks like it is either Cory's
(Calonectris diomedea borealis(?))  or Cape Verde (Calonectris (d)
edwardsii).  I note that this bird from mid September has a very similar
molt pattern to photos of C. edwardsii from Senegal in early Oct ( BIRDING
WORLD Vol 10, No. 6, P 222-228): the inner 4/5 primaries are new and
bluish-gray, contrasting with the brown, worn outer primaries, plus the
outer greater secondary coverts were a similar  blue-gray color,
contrasting with the fresh-looking blackish outer secondaries.
Can anyone provide information on whether C. diomedea (nominate and
borealis) molts at the same time as C. edwarsdii, and if the wing looks
similar during the molt? (any photos of Cory's looking like this would be
appreciated)
Thanks,
Martin

Martin Reid
upupa(AT)airmail.net
http://www.martinreid.com  or  http://www.cyberramp.net/~upupa