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| Pomarine Skua/Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
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| Photographer : | © Shiva Shankar |
| Location : | Off the coast of Mangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Date : |
4 March 2012 |
| English synonyms: | Pomerine Jaeger, Pomerine Skua, Pomatorhine Jaeger, Pomatorhine Skua, Gull Hunter, Gull-Chaser, Jaeger Gull, Jiddy Hawk, Marlinespike, Whip-Tail |
| Bird Family : | Stercorariidae - Skuas & Jaegers |
| Bird Group : | CICONIIFORMES |
| Red Data Status : | Least Concern |
| Remarks : | Yes, this is a Pomarine. There are a couple of features that clinch it.
The black on the face goes down below the gape.
Parasitics [Arctics] often show a small white spot just above the base of the bill; this bird doesn't have that spot.
Breast band is heavy.
There's a lot of white at the base of the primaries. Primary underwing coverts are just growing in, and their pale bases aren't showing yet.
The wings are wide at the base and remain fairly wide throughout.
There is some barring on the upper flanks just under the wing; not a lot but some.
And the black in the undertail coverts goes forward of the trailing edge of the wing.
As for the R1, it looks to me like some squared off feather tips, right for pomarine. But the fact is that Pomarines frequently bite off their spoons after breeding, and that the feather tips of the 2 central rectrices can look bedraggled and pointier than one might expect. - Stanley Walens |
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