Interesting Shrike EPG 30 Oct 2010

[Paul J]

John and I chased this little thing around the Eastern grounds for a bit. I was very interested in how brown the back was and how faint the mask. Creamy underparts. Daurian Shrike, I believe.


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[Oscar]

Hi Paul

I agree that this is probably Daurian. Underside seems very pale in the shots, contra to what you say, but I suspct that is over-exposure. Very weak mask and rather grey-tinged upperside both point to Daurian but on these pics safest to leave it as 'probable'. There is significant overlap between Turks and Daurian. Finally, flight feathers seem very pale and greyish (at least in from the tips; this is apparently a feature of arenarius, the most easterly breeding taxon of the Isabelline quagmire, but rather dark tail indicates otherwise. I don't know if arenarius has ever been convincingly claimed in Arabia, let alone in the UAE.

OSCAR