Kenya Birds 03 Larks (1 Viewer)

MacNara · May 24, 2013

I'd like to check that Photo 1 is Grassland Pipit, and Photo 2 is Plain-backed Pipit.

Then, the others are larks (I think) that I can't get. I had a hundred or more photos of larks, most of them Pink-breasted and Rufous-naped.

Photo 3: I just can't work out, though it has clear markings (early morning light; Sweetwaters).
Photo 4: I wonder if this is Fawn-coloured Lark (Samburu)
Photo 5: The posture, colour and general size made me wonder if this is Red-winged Lark (Samburu)

MacNara · May 24, 2013

And there are four others; all different birds.

Photo 6 is Samburu, the others Sweetwaters.

chris butterworth · May 24, 2013

African Larks :eek!: Here goes nothing.

1 Grassland / African Pipit
2 Same
3 Difficult, but for some reason I keep thinking Anthus (c / s) latirostris Jackson's Pipit?
4 Rufous-naped Lark. Quite a few taxa don't have a rufous nape and Fawn-coloured is a Stn. African bird.
5 Correct. Very heavy bill is one of the best ways to separate this from Rufous-naped.
6 Red-winged
7 Red-winged
8 Rufous-naped. Thinner bill and much shorter tail than Red-winged.
9 Rufous-naped

Chris

Tib78 · May 24, 2013

-1: African/grassland pipit
-2: Plain-backed (note the plain back; bland face; very pink lower mandible and white supercilium)
-3: (very) juvenile pipit it seems, I'd guess Grassland/African, more pics?
-4: Fawn-colored lark is correct (check face and tertials pattern Chris)
-5/6: Red-winged lark
-7: probably red-winged again but i wouldn't totally rule out Rufous-naped on this view
-8/9: Rufous-naped

MacNara · May 24, 2013

Again: thank you Chris and Tib.

As for photo 3, I do have other pictures, but they show less (here you can see some wing, for example). I must have spent an hour going through the books for this, and if you two can't get it, then I'll put it down as an honourable defeat.

Of the others, I'm pleased to have found Fawn-coloured (I really do spend a lot of time trying to work things out before I post all these pictures). Stevenson and Fanshawe have Fawn-coloured down for just the area we were in, Chris. And these two Red-winged will be the only two we saw. I thought photo 8 was very pale for Rufous-naped, so I wondered if it might have been something else, like Singing Bush or White-tailed.

Thanks again.

chris butterworth · May 24, 2013

Thanks for that Tibs.:t: Sorry about that Mac, I never - knowingly - had Fawn-coloured in Kenya ( probably because I thought it was found further south ).:-C. Rufous-naped is extremely variable but the thinner bill and noticeably short tail coupled to rufous wings is usually the best way to sort it out.

Chris

MacNara · May 24, 2013

Thank you.

Valéry Schollaert · May 24, 2013

Fawn-coloured Lark is splitted to Abyssinian Lark in East Africa (Calendulauda alopex).

MacNara · May 24, 2013

Valéry Schollaert said:
Fawn-coloured Lark is splitted to Abyssinian Lark in East Africa (Calendulauda alopex).

Looking at the Horn of Africa book, I see that Foxy Lark is the top name, adn Abyssinian an alternative. But all my books still have everything in Mirafra. Is the Calendulauda break in normal use now? If so, where can I see which species names have changed?

Thanks, Valery.

Valéry Schollaert · May 24, 2013

Yeah Foxy Lark is ok, I was not sure which name as now in use.

The simplest is to check all references given by Avibase

http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=CF87044518A23DE7

Despite Avibase has chosen "Abyssinian Lark", Foxy Lark is used by most indeed. Genus "Calendulauda" is used by IOC, Clements, ABC, HBW... all those that matter!

Abyssinian Lark was the name used by Sibley and Monroe, the first who splitted that bird...

I hope this help.

MacNara · May 24, 2013

Yes, that helps, thank you.

It's really difficult for amateurs to keep up with all the splitting going on. To use the current example, the Horn of Africa book and the East Africa book use the same illustrations as much as possible. Now the 'Foxy Lark' in Horn of Africa has exactly the same paintings as 'Fawn-coloured' in East Africa but with the new English and the new Latin name only. There is no note to cross-refer back to the older book and say that there it was called 'Fawn-coloured' with a different Latin name, although it's obviously likely that people like me, having been to Kenya may also visit Ethiopia, and will use both.

Maybe it would be good if they left names alone, and had one day every five or ten years when new (agreed) names became official. Then the guide authors could post a page with all the names in their guide that needed to be updated.

(Although I've just looked at the swift pages in the two guides, and the colours are completely different, although the pictures appear to be the same. Look at Scarce Swift and African Palm Swift in the two books!)

Valéry Schollaert · May 24, 2013

Hi McNara,

If (as myself) you like to be update in taxonomy, I suggest you click once a month or so to those 3 links

http://www.worldbirdnames.org/updates/species-updates-3-3/

http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=505

http://www.jboyd.net/Taxo/changes.html

Just reading what is attracting you there once in a while will keep you informed of most important changes... you"ll see, it is fun!

For your personnal list, I recommand IOC one, really up-to-date...
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/

Cheers

MacNara · May 24, 2013

Thank you.

njlarsen · May 24, 2013

Regarding lists and updates: I for different reasons use the Clements/Cornell list. They usually only update once a year, and the list of updates will be posted online http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/corrections.

Valery, on Avibase at least for the checklists you can choose which taxonomic resource that should be used, and if you allow cookies your choice should be remembered from one visit to the next.

Niels

Valéry Schollaert · May 25, 2013

Niels,

At the time of Clements and before IOC / Frank& Gill publications, I used it as well. Now, it is a bit of a mess. While it follows AOU in North America an is generally good for all American continent, elsewhere such in Africa, Cornell list is not consistent, and many English names given are no longer in use in the field. I spent much time comparing the lists, Dickinson (Howard and Moore) are really to slow to be adapted (thus I didn't check the latest version), so remain IOC for me.

I understand that based in Middle-America, you might enjoy Cornell list.

Ad yes I know how works Avibase. I was directing MacNara on a page he can read which authority is using which name.

Cheers

Kenya Birds 03 Larks (1 Viewer)

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