I blithely posted this Moroccan bird to the Gallery confidently stating it was a Thekla Lark, based mainly on the bill shape.
In the Collins guide they emphasise the straight lower edge to the bill of the Crested Lark, compared to the slightly convex lower edge on the Thekla which this bird appears to have.
However looking through the Concise BWP this point does not come across clearly from the illustrations, and I am now beginning to have doubts. In particular, the "paler and warmer brown" of the Thekla crest is not apparent, and the crest could be more the shape of the Crested. However, I still think the bill looks more like the Thekla in both Collins and Lars Jonsson's book. Can anyone bolster my confidence?
I attach a couple of further pics. Not sure they were all the same bird, as there were two hopping around together, but I assumed they were the same species.
One of the pics shows the bird on top of a bushy flower, and Collins has perching in bushes as Thekla thing (although admittedly this is not quite a bush, and it's on it rather than in it...).
Thanks all.
In the Collins guide they emphasise the straight lower edge to the bill of the Crested Lark, compared to the slightly convex lower edge on the Thekla which this bird appears to have.
However looking through the Concise BWP this point does not come across clearly from the illustrations, and I am now beginning to have doubts. In particular, the "paler and warmer brown" of the Thekla crest is not apparent, and the crest could be more the shape of the Crested. However, I still think the bill looks more like the Thekla in both Collins and Lars Jonsson's book. Can anyone bolster my confidence?
I attach a couple of further pics. Not sure they were all the same bird, as there were two hopping around together, but I assumed they were the same species.
One of the pics shows the bird on top of a bushy flower, and Collins has perching in bushes as Thekla thing (although admittedly this is not quite a bush, and it's on it rather than in it...).
Thanks all.