Hoping for a quick bit of help/confirmation here if anyone is confident with these two infuriatingly similar species.
All photographed in different areas in/near the south of Adelaide, and most likely different individuals (though candidates 1 and 2 were photographed in a couple of conservation parks about 10km from each other).
Confident on the first two being Collared Sparrowhawks, but it'd be nice to put it to bed!
#1
#2
and #3... aka the "Challenge Round"... probably the one I'm most interested in. Taken down at Aldinga. I was distracted by a magpie, of all things, and didn't notice this one coming past over my shoulder. A quick grab shot was all I could manage... heavily cropped which doesn't help. Presuming a young sparrowhawk due to the different pattern but I'm not as confident with some of the less common raptors, especially the colourings of the immature/juveniles.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I think #1 is a Brown Goshawk because of the distinct eyebrow. I think #2 is a Collared Sparrowhawk based on the tail shape, but it also seems to have a bit of that "glare" characteristic and quite thick legs which are more indicative of a goshawk so I'm not sure. And #3 I don't know enough to help.
Another member made a rather useful post a while back which is where I sourced most of my info from.
http://birdsinbackyards.net/forum/Brown-goshawk-v-Collared-sparrowhawk
Thanks for the input and that thread is certainly useful. It's so easy to second-guess yourself. From what little we can see of #1's legs, they seem a bit heavier set than the Sparrowhawk example, too, so you may be right about it being a BG. The tail shape is much easier to see on #2 and judging by the examples in that earlier post I'd agree with you on Sparrowhawk.
As always, it'd be nice if sticks and leaves weren't always getting in the way, or if the birds would kindly pose a little more nicely! :P
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Mike
https://flic.kr/ps/aF4bq
Further adding to this because I'm still trying to pin it down and having some fun in the process. I went back to the same location to see if I could spot bird #2 again and came up with these two candidates. The first is very clearly a sparrowhawk, as I can't imagine a goshawk so lightly built and skinny of leg. I actually think it's likely quite young? It was very small - much smaller than others I have seen. The spindly legs and lack of brow are obvious here. Are the diamond patterns/vertical stripes on the throat and upper chest the same on immature birds of both species? The adults I've seen (including #2 in the original post above) have all had the usual much finer, horizontal banding from the throat all the way down their fronts.
Bird #4
Then, on the way back to the car, this rather handsome spectre introduced him/herself:
Bird #5 (?)
A more obviously rounded tail and slightly thicker legs. Not much more of a brow, but a somewhat bigger and more intimidating bird than the one I'd just left behind me. I'm guessing it is also relatively young (hence the feather patterning). Feathers are very puffed up so might be hiding a much smaller build. Long, spindly middle toe and a "stare" still lean a bit towards sparrowhawk.. I did get this snap a few seconds later (sorry about the quality):
There's a slim possibility that this is the same bird twice over, but I'm pretty certain it's not. The white feathers on the back don't quite match up and the bird's size and the timing/location don't add up very well either. The first bird had some fairly obvious gore it was trying to remove from its beak, too, which it would have had to do quite quickly and then fly unseen straight past me and into a tree directly ahead of me about 100m away. It had departed in the opposite direction before I started walking back, and travelled a long distance before I lost track of it, so doubling back doesn't make a lot of sense.
I'm feeling a bit like the original #1 in the original post is probably a BG but all the rest here are collared sparrowhawks. #2 in the original post was an adult (definitely the adult feather patterning) and the rest are all immature. Maybe the two in this post are a male and female, if the females are a bit larger that might account for the latter of the two seeming a little bigger if they're both roughly the same age? Maybe bird #2 was a parent of these two.
Would love any input, but I'm also happy amusing myself here. Maybe some of this will be helpful (hopefully not misleading) for someone in the future.
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Mike
https://flic.kr/ps/aF4bq
I reckon they are Brown Sparrowhawks :)) or maybe Collard Goshawks :))
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
Certainly more agreeable possibilities than Brown Spashawks or a Collared Gorrowhawks!
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Mike
https://flic.kr/ps/aF4bq