tags: Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Ashy Starling, Cosmopsarus (Spreo) unicolor (L), and Yellow-collared Lovebird, also known as the Black-Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personatus (R), photographed at Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens at 400. ISO 400, 1/250, f/5.6.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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It would appear that the bird on the right understands the meaning of "unconditional love", but the one on the left understands the meaning of the "universe"- eharmony.com has nothing on these two!
John and Adrian, getting hot under the "collar" or is the fire out?
Whew - this took some searching and thinking. I think the one on the right is a Black-masked Lovebird. The white eye-ring, white at the base of the beak and yellow banding seem to support this.
The one on the left seems like a 'big, brown job' (bbj) - the shape seemed very familiar. The bronzing on the cheeks, the bronze/brown tail and gray-brown back lead me to believe this is an Ashy Starling (Cosmopsaurus unicolor)
Sorry; I don't do the furrin' ones. Though I recognized the one on the right as a lovebird, having had a peach-faced lovebird for a pet a number of years ago.
That was a very cool bird.
re.#1
Yellow-collared Lovebird, Agapornis personatus, from the Greek αγάÏη (agape) or "unconditional love" and ÏÏÎ½Î¹Ï "bird"... and an Ashy Starling Cosmopsarus unicolor with the combination of the Greek κÏÏÎ¼Î¿Ï (cosmos) meaning "[Pythagorean] order in the universe" and ÏÎ¬Ï (psar) meaning, wait for it... "starling"...
@zoo713, I like the Freudian slip with the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but the genus should really be Cosmopsarus and not -saurus!
Ha ha! "agape" and the "universe"!
yellow-collared lovebird and when the "fire [is] out" it gets ashy!
thanks David, that was cool- more please!
According to ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System, the taxonomy of the Yellow-masked Lovebird should be Agapornis personatus not personata, corrected for gender concordance.
In addition, I am not sure that there are any subspecies formally recorded and so therefore as a monotypic species, all that is required taxonomically is genus and species not a repetition of the specific name to indicate subspecies.