The value of a definitive photograph

More good stuff from HASnyder on BirdForum:

A definitive photograph (just a good one, not necessarily a pretty one) removes the arguments about whether you, I or Observer X are honest or are any good at field identifications. A definitive photograph does several additional things: it shows that the bird in A) alive, B) has the field marks that must be present, and C) perhaps most importantly, it allows you to say what it is not - i.e. it allows you to eliminate all the other possible interpretations with certainty. And D) with luck it allows you to place the animal in time and space, as Warner's jaguar photos did.