Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

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RussCannings
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby RussCannings » Sun Mar 21, 2021 6:48 pm

If it is a House Sparrow it would be odd that it lacks a dark throat and pale forehead. Agree that Passer-type sparrow could fit the vibe. Still leading odd swallow... new species? ;)
Jan
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Location: Christchurch

Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby Jan » Mon Mar 22, 2021 3:14 pm

Some sort of cagebird, perhaps?
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Neil Fitzgerald
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby Neil Fitzgerald » Fri May 14, 2021 5:43 pm

I still don't think this bird is something common, and an aberrant individual of a common species seems no more likely than a vagrant.
The bird is in open shade as the sun is behind the building and the sky is clear. This means the light is very low contrast and there are no harsh shadows (note lack of shadow under the light fitting).
Two of the photos are taken from the same place, so easy to compare directly as the bird moves. I aligned and animated them. See below.
The originals are a bit under exposed and the open shade causes a blue cast, so I have set the white point so it is now more like how we would see it (subconsciously correcting the cast).
I was thinking Brent was on to something in that there does appear to be something semi-transparent where he indicated, but now I'm not sure that it is not changing shape as the bird moves. It definitely changes tone.
Notice the tip of the tail which becomes visible, and seems quite long.
I think the white chin and dark breast band/wing are real, and the crown has a rufous hint or grey.

Martin.gif
Martin.gif (523.19 KiB) Viewed 1446 times
andrewcrossland
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Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: Christchurch

Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby andrewcrossland » Fri May 14, 2021 8:36 pm

Hey those special effects are cool!!
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Steve Wood
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby Steve Wood » Sat May 15, 2021 1:46 pm

When you see the bird move like this it does highlight the length of the tail. Fantail sp. ?
David Melville
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby David Melville » Sun May 16, 2021 9:39 am

Yes, my reaction also was 'fantail'. The nearest would seem to be Rhipidura rufiventris obiensis but this lacks the white forehead shown by the Hornby bird. Also rather a long way off range - Distribution: Obi I and Bisa I (S of Halmahera), in N Moluccas.
RandF
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby RandF » Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

When I first saw the photos my immediate thought was White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis) which I am very familiar with. Wishful thinking though!!
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Richard Hurt
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RussCannings
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Re: Martin?, Hornby, Christchurch

Postby RussCannings » Wed May 19, 2021 6:53 am

My feeling continue to be in the swallow camp. The straight angle from the back to the apparent tail tip is consistent with swallow perching posture whereas we all know most fantails hold their tails at a slightly different angle to the wing, and are usually quite active even when perched. Furthermore, the primary projection if this bird appears (to me) to be quite long. I think that bump at the lower tip of the bird is the left wing curving in, and possibly longer than the tail. I'm not sure how a fantail could show this odd shape near the base of the tail (which would seem short anyway for a Fantail?).

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