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All: Because of my ignorance of the age and seasonal variability of Yellow-billed vs. Common Loon, I solicited opinions from two very knowledgeable sources. Peter Pyle is the author of the paramount i.d. work on identification of birds in the hand or in good images (all subspecies described, seasonal and age info, lots of images on feather and other details, tables of measurements,etc.) Steve Gantlett is the editor of "Birding World" - the most important monthly journal on birds of UK and the W. Palearectic (where Yellow-nilled Loon is more routine than it is in N. Am.). Here are their responses. To my requests for opinions. ________________________________________________________________________ March 23 Hi Ian, We're confident this poor bird is immer, not adamsii, on head pattern etc. Also the dark upper mandible is being lost against the sea, and the bill paleness, though burnt in the photo, is grey, not cream. Cheers, Steve Steve Gantlett Birding World, Sea Lawn, Coast Road, Cley next the Sea, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7RZ Tel. 01263 740913 ___________________________________________________________________________ Mar 14, 2011 Hi Ian - Yeah I don't think it's a Yellow-billed. It just looks too dark. The black spot in the auricular area could be alternate plumage along with photo distortion but I don't think it favors either species. Note alternate Common has smaller back spots than Yellow-billed and this feature fits Common. Otherwise I don't see anything indicating second-cycle and this early date for molt would favor an older bird. The bill seems oddly pale, but could this be based somehow on the polypro restricting circulation or something? It could also be lighting/angle. Cheers, Peter __________________________________________________________________________ I also consulted Paul Buckley, a long-time acquaintance and widely knowledgeable U.S. field ornithologist, and he too declared it a Yellow-billed Loon. I think these replies make the bird at least problematic, and probably not acceptable by a bird recotrds committee, I could have consulted the advanced birding e-group, but answers from them are sometimes all over the map and not fully thought out. Cheers, Ian
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