Raptor ID Part 2

Here the balance of what I couldn't manage to identify.

1. Shikra?
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2. Grey Faced Buzzard
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3. Japanese Sparrowhawk?
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4. OHB?
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5. Pied Harrier?
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Thanks all.

GOSH!!!! Accipiters are nightmare and you get 3 of them!!!!!

The 4th is correct, an OHB, likely a dark morph female, do take note on the pigeon like slender and tame-looking head, diagnostic for OHB if you can see the head clearly.

The 5th is definitely a harrier but I had been proven to be evidently poor in identifying non-adult male harriers, this is not male harrier, so what I guess here could be correct or wrong.... but shorter looking neck may or may not point to Pied Harrier, for the ever confusing variations in plumage over the different raptor years which is likely more helpful to pinpoint this, I guess you need to look for Terence to help, my memory is equally poor when it comes to storing that much information.

For your first 3 raptors, really interested to known where you captured these, coz if you get in Malaysia and Thailand, it could be very different reaction

The 2nd accipiter looks like a very good male Shikra (note Shikra are rarely recorded in Malaysia), while the 1st photo by structure dont look that much like the Japanese Sparrowhawk but your photo is not sharp enough to see if there was an eyering, so from the overall appearance plus the tail, I will vote for juvenile Shikra.

The third bird under a bad angle, the eyering is not really visible, but plumage seemed to recommend a good female Japanese Sparrowhawk

Hi Tou,

1st Shikra
2nd jap. sparrrowhawk
3rd jap sparrohawk
4th correct
5th Eastern Marsh - If I can see it correct. Please confirm this marking. The bird have a pale breast and throat?

Terence Ang wrote:Hi Tou,

1st Shikra
2nd jap. sparrrowhawk
3rd jap sparrohawk
4th correct
5th Eastern Marsh - If I can see it correct. Please confirm this marking. The bird have a pale breast and throat?

Aisk, I also get 60% only, merely passed, 2nd one ID as adult male got add marks or not? hahahaha, I was puzzled coz I cant see the eye ring......

Hi Tou,

You realise it have dark eye? so it cant be shikra for that reason.

Terence Ang wrote:Hi Tou,

You realise it have dark eye? so it cant be shikra for that reason.

The darkness of eyes did keep me wondering, at first cant see the eyering thought perhaps something like Chinese but of coz other parts dont show features of Chinese especially for an adult male as such, simply google and sorta seen some Shikra have darker reddish iris that appears darker and thought I dono la... hahahah, tembak sahajalah..... hahahaha

Thanks very much both of you. Now it is time for me to digest all of them well. If there are any parts that I don't understand, I will revert back here. Both 2 & 3 are Japs? Their eyes, tails and body shape are so different..... more homework for me.

Tou, all are taken at Chumphon last October. A lot of my answers are like objective test.......close my eyes and shoot hahaha. Very hazy there then thus poor picture plus heavy cropping also.

alphan wrote:Thanks very much both of you. Now it is time for me to digest all of them well. If there are any parts that I don't understand, I will revert back here. Both 2 & 3 are Japs? Their eyes, tails and body shape are so different..... more homework for me.

Tou, all are taken at Chumphon last October. A lot of my answers are like objective test.......close my eyes and shoot hahaha. Very hazy there then thus poor picture plus heavy cropping also.

o.... the Shikra is common up there, both the jap are of different sex, male and female, there are differences in colorations in iris, upperparts color, lowerparts pattern, that's why Raptors are very challenging, we haven't take into account various stages of juvenile plumage!!!!

Yeah, I know it's very challenging. When I was there, I heard Dr Robert Decandido showing us a picture he just took where he counted the age, sex and other aspect of plumage but never before did he saw one with such face/eye color.