First-winter male and female Siberian Blue Robin (Luscinia cyane)
First-winter male, Tuas, 21st October & 26th October 1995 Peter Kennerley
Text by Brian J Small
On Figures 1 and 2, the amount of blue in the upper-parts rules out first-winter female, whilst adult female would not have the warm tones to edges of the greater coverts. Svensson (1992) states that first-winter males are ‘rarely extensively blue-tinged above’, but as this image of a typical 1W male shows they are normally blue-tinged above; he also states that they show (as in this bird) retained juvenile outer greater coverts ‘tipped buff’, but in fact they are edged warm buff and the tertials may be tipped pale buff. The breast sides are washed buff and the throat and breast are subtly barred; the ear-coverts look browner.
Paul Leader has commented on this very blue first-winter male (above in Fig. 3.) "First-winter males are quite variable, and this is quite a blue individual. However, the lack of black on the lores and ear-coverts, and separating the white underparts and the blue upperparts easily identify it as a first-winter. Additional features are the obvious buff eye-ring, brownish forecrown (slightly paler blue than the rest of the upperparts on adult males), pale bill (typically black in adults of both sexes), moult contrast in the greater coverts, inner new gcs washed blue and with a small pale tip to at least one old greater covert, pale fringes to the tertials, and the fact that the underparts are not pure white. I have seen one first-winter female in the hand where the blue wash to the tail was extremely reduced, and is hardly visable in the photos."