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Hi
Lindsay,
That
is a good question. Yes the unfeathered legs and no doubt the general abundance
of Whistling Kites would suggest that, but it certainly isn't that. No WK
is that strongly marked in light & dark brown or has a dark tail. The face
shape and very sloping upper curve of the beak surely shows it to be a Harrier,
which is consistent with the long legs (longer than in any kite). That the wing
coverts are heavily marked and the almost orange face (forward of the facial
ruff) suggests very much to me it is a juvenile Spotted Harrier. I can't come up
with anything else that matches. Did you see any features additional to those in
the photo and did you consider that ID? If you don't have a book that shows a
juvenile Spotted Harrier but only shows an adult, you could easily overlook that
ID. There should surely be Spotted Harriers in that
area.
Philip
I took the enclosed photo a couple
of years ago at Cunnamulla, Qld and had it listed in my photo library as a
Whistling Kite. The relatively long, bare legs seem to indicate it is
possibly something else. Any thoughts?
Regards
Lindsay
Hansch
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