[obol] Re: UNUSUAL GULL AT MALHEUR = leucistic heron!
- From: Richard Leinen <rick.lumen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 23:07:21 -0700
I would question as to whether this bird is leucistic. I too realized that it
was a Black-crowned Night Heron, but my impression is that it was an
overexposed image with a lot of top light.
Rick
On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:15 PM, David Bailey <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 1. A reminder: please don't attach photos to OBOL messages as they can not be
> easily accessed by all (and we all make mistakes sometimes...).
>
> 2. Here is a link to the "UNUSUAL GULL" photo (which I found by going
> directly to the Freelists site for OBOL
> (//www.freelists.org/archive/obol/recent)):
> //www.freelists.org/archives/obol/06-2014/jpgf38RaNjD2_.jpg
>
> 3. Harry, thanks so much for taking and alerting us to this unusual sighting.
> The bird is in fact not a gull at all, though if it was, Glaucous-winged Gull
> would be a good guess. Note the long legs and toes projecting beyond the
> tail; the large head and large dusky bill and the very large red eye. What
> you saw was a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. It would appear that the bird has a
> mutation affecting the normal pigment expression for the species. The overall
> frosted look is what is referred to as leucism.
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism). Note the ghost of the dark black
> crown of the bird in your picture.
>
> 4. Indeed you did see a very rare bird! The species is common, but the
> plumage you saw is one of kind.
>
> 5. Those seeking an id challenge will want to check their field guides to see
> why this is not a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron; a species that will one day be
> found in Oregon. Note the extension of the toes beyond the tail in Harry's
> photo. If this were a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, the legs would also project
> beyond the tail along with the toes.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> David
>
> Manzanita, Oregon for the summer.
>
> Subject: UNUSUAL GULL AT MALHEUR
> Date: Mon Jun 23 2014 22:41 pm
> From: atowhee AT gmail.com
> i WAS BIRDING AROUND MALHEUR JUNE 20-21...AND THIS PICTURE WAS AMONG THOSE
>
> I JUST GOT TO LOOK AT TODAY...GLAUCOUS-WINGED SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY RATIONAL
>
> CONCLUSION:
>
>
>
> --
>
> Harry Fuller
>
> author of FREEWAY BIRDING, see: *freewaybirding.com
>
> *
>
> Atowhee@gmail
>
> http://www.towhee.net
>
> my birding blog: atowhee.wordpress.com
>
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