Caspian with pale iris from Poland

[michal rycak]

These time pale iris Caspian from Lubna 30.07.2010
PABE was ringed 02.05.2009 in breeding colony as female, more than 3cy, in Poland ZB.KOZIELNO, PACZKÓW, OPOLSKIE, POLSKA, 50°29'N, 16°58'E. Ringer Jacek Betleja.

Michal

ps. im not sure where i have to post photos of ringed birds - in Caspian sub-forum or in local patches - Lubna topic?

[WolfgangSchweighofer]

Hi Michal,
these pale eyed CG seem to occur but obviously not very often?

Again this "famous" 006P, born at Asow Sea/Ukraine. With it´s intense yellow bill and it´s yellowish feet in midwinter I had beleived in my first Polish YLG!

BTW: In the meantime I have received a report from 1cy yellow PDXD (Greifenstein, river Donau near Wien), so obviously the Jankovice colony in southern Poland has survived the great flood and Jacek has ringed again a lot of them?

Wolfgang

[michal rycak]

Hi Wolfgang,
indeed these pale eyed CG are regular in Poland, maybe not so numerous but present and not rare.
I post another pale iris one - 103P from Lubna. Unfortunatelly still dont have ringing data.

I haven't any informations from Jacek about birds ringed these year in Jankowice. But good to see that some of them have survived


Michal

[WolfgangSchweighofer]

Interesting that this 103P also has got these pale eyes

I have got another proof for a surviving Polish cachinnans colony: I was able to observe a 1cy CG with yellow ring PDDK at river Donau near Melk (power station, roosting). It was a large heavy bird, obviously male.
I have made the poor picture after sunset from a distance of about 90 meters with 2x500mm... So please excuse the quality
I believe the Jankowice colony could survive because it is situated at a gravel pit, not at a river.

Wolfgang

[lou bertalan]

hi guys.

concerning pale irises: out of 150 adult cachinnans photographed in romania 30% have "pale" irises, 51% "medium" pigmented and only 19% "dark" ones. a count i just made from my collected photos and of course many are not straight in one category but i think the relation is somewhere there!

regards,

lou

[WolfgangSchweighofer]

Hi Lou,

and what´s about the bill colour? Last winter I had this 916P, ringed as a nesting adult in 2004. Seems to have a pale (or medium?) iris too. And an intensely yellow bill like 006P, normally during winter I see this greenish yellow bills in cachinnans. Does it depend on the age?

Regards
Wolfgang

[lou bertalan]

hi wolfgang,

i don't know. actually i don't think it is age related. they occure from time to time. see this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=79&p=1056&hilit=ca ... ight#p1056, well i see you just look at it and remember this: http://www.iesmeulmeester.nl/fotos.php? ... catsub=410
i associate birds with bright colours as advanced in hormonal terms, but i may be wrong.

[Theo Muusse]

I think there is a difference between the yellow-white colour of the eyes in 103P against the obvious warmer yellow eyes in 006P.
Yellow-white, or white-yellow eyes are to me not possible in cachinnans, but you can always show me the opposite.

Theo

[michal rycak]

Hi Theo,
so you think that 103P is not a pure CG? Im very curious about it so i wrote to my friends from ringing station form some data for these bird in non-oficial way
I attached a photo of another CG with iris colour simillar to 103P.

[lou bertalan]

I think there is a difference between the yellow-white colour of the eyes in 103P against the obvious warmer yellow eyes in 006P.
Yellow-white, or white-yellow eyes are to me not possible in cachinnans, but you can always show me the opposite.

Theo

hi theo,

not possible is a hard word. you yourself have photographed a cach without p5 mark for instance.
attached two caspians with very pale eyes, though a better resolution would be needed to exactly discern iris pigmentation.

best,

lou