Tembe Cam 2020

[Klipspringer]

But really unusual in being so white

[Richprins]

The stance and skinny legs are pretty diagnostic...it must be a moulting gymnogene.

[Klipspringer]

Semi-leucistic, I think

[Lisbeth]

With that face, it can only be a gymnogene Why moulting Do all eagles moult

[Klipspringer]

A juvenile is all brown, Lisbeth

[Richprins]

They must change feathers as they become adult!

[Lisbeth]

Ah! I thought of seasonal moulting

[Klipspringer]

Perhaps a harrier-hawk undergoes a subadult stage and this is what it looks like

Juvenile plumage is moulted in either a single or several moult cycles (years) depending on the species, until the “definitive” (mature) plumage aspect is acquired. Mature plumage is fully developed after the completion of second or third moult in most passerine birds, the fourth or fifth moult in most gulls, and later in some larger bird species. Some species go through an intermediate step, showing a “subadult” plumage (e.g. vultures and eagles). In these cases, juvenile birds need one or more moult cycles to reach the subadult plumage. Subadult feathers are different in colour, size and pattern from both juvenile and adult feathers. Later, the subadult plumage is replaced in one or more moult cycles until the definitive adult plumage is acquired.

[Lisbeth]

Thank you for teaching us so much, Klippie

[Klipspringer]

Genetta maculata – Rusty-spotted Genet