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Common Chiffchaff (Egypt) (1 Viewer)

JarJar

Well-known member
Hi there,

what kind of warbler could this be? Maybe Common Chiffchaff?

Seen in Egypt, red sea, south of Hurghada in an hotel garden. (31. october 2017)

Best regards an thanks a lot,
Chris
 

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For me it's a Chiffchaff. Legs are exposed to sunlight and thus seem lighter than they really are I'd say. Face pattern, greyish wash of neck and head and rather dark olive mantle fit.
 
For me it's a Chiffchaff. Legs are exposed to sunlight and thus seem lighter than they really are I'd say. Face pattern, greyish wash of neck and head and rather dark olive mantle fit.

Agree completely, although we can't see the all important primary projection, this bird, as Roland describes, screams Chiffchaff. It looks quite sleek compared to ones in cooler climes but they do look skinny in warmer places.
 
I see a fairly clear-cut willow warbler. Pale legs ( can’t see the direct exposure to sunlight as a problem, it’s quite the opposite in fact!), strong and largely yellow bill, hint of a breast band all point squarely to WW. And while the bird is not in a perfect position to assess this, the wings look long and the emarginations are placed farther towards the wingtip than is normal for chiffchaff.
 
Well, I have been wrong regarding this species-pair, but here I feel really sure that it's a Chiffy. Any chance for another picture?
 
The wings look long enough for WW but I've got CCs here with similar coloured legs, so not sure either way!


Shane
 
I would be interested in seeing pictures of CCs with this colour to the legs and (even more so) to the toes.

The attached bird was photographed on Heligoland, Germany. Not the best pictures, sorry. As you can see it has a green eloxed ring. For a few years now the guys at the bird observatory on Heligoland are ringing a small percentage of the breeding common species with these special rings to get information about their phenology... I learnt that this bird for sure is a Chiffchaff. Admittedly I too was surprised about the leg-colour!

Still hoping for more pictures of the OP bird...
 

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Then let’s get away from the thinking that leg colour is diagnostic of WW & CC. It never was and never will be!
 
I would be interested in seeing pictures of CCs with this colour to the legs and (even more so) to the toes.

Is it true to say then dark legged WWs are quite frequent but pale legged Chiffchaffs are rare? This is what I thought and now I must admit that seeing your take on this bird and the fact that it has WW coloured legs has made me doubt myself completely ;)
 
I see a fairly clear-cut willow warbler. Pale legs ( can’t see the direct exposure to sunlight as a problem, it’s quite the opposite in fact!), strong and largely yellow bill, hint of a breast band all point squarely to WW. And while the bird is not in a perfect position to assess this, the wings look long and the emarginations are placed farther towards the wingtip than is normal for chiffchaff.
Agree with all of this.
+ the bird's plumage is wet on breast/head, making it more difficult to evaluate colours there, and the supercilium is actually very long (slightly obscured by wetting, but it even curves behind the ear coverts). The bill structure alone is too strong for CC, IMO.
 
Hi there,

sorry for my late answer. I didn´t know, that there ist such an interesting and long discussion because of my willow warbler/chiffchaff :)

Thanks a lot for this!!! And thanks a lot for your great answers.

I have some more pictures for you - but I don´t know, if they help.

Best regards,
Chris

@Roland: Thanks a lot for your message! Besten Dank und lieben Gruß. Hoffe mit den weiteren Bildern zur Aufklärung beitragen zu können :)
 

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Willow Warbler of course! Easy now when primary projection is visible...

@Chris, always good to post more than one photo if you have. There may be features that can't be seen on all postures...
 
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