File talk:Milvus milvus (in vlucht).jpg

 

External re-uses

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/81858878@N00/9025905508/ own account (see statement on User:Biopics  B.p. 13:30, 25 November 2013 (UTC)
• http://www.geolocation.ws/v/W/File%3AMilvus%20milvus%20(in%20flight).jpg/-/en just a copy because of coordinates, can be reached from Flickr account too.  B.p. 13:30, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

Identity

 Comment I'm pretty certain (90%+) this is a hybrid between Milvus milvus and Milvus migrans - note the intermediate length tail, and the brown (not strongly rufous) plumage, particularly the tail colour (a Milvus migrans character), but also a pale head (a Milvus milvus character). It is strongly intermediate between the two, but does not fit well for either, suggesting hybrid origin between them. But I don't have definite proof of its being a hybrid, which is why I put it in Category:Unidentified Milvus. Maybe the owners (Pairi Diaza zoo in Belgium) might have documentation of its origin. This hybrid is frequent in captivity, e.g. London Zoo famously had 3 which escaped in March 2008, causing many identification problems for birders as they roamed around southeast England over the subsequent months. I would definitely say that this photo (and the other two of the same bird File:Unidentified Milvus (portrait).jpg and File:Unidentified Milvus (sideview).jpg) should not be used as an example of Milvus milvus, as at the links on the file talk pages, as it is misleading in that context. For comparisons, see e.g. the head colour and tail length and colour here, Milvus milvus and here, Milvus migrans. MPF (talk) 00:22, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

See Commons:Deletion requests/File:Milvus milvus (side).jpg for further developments on identification. Jee 03:10, 26 March 2014 (UTC)