Warbler / Chiffchaff Siberia (1 Viewer)

After a visit to Vladivostok and Irkutsk in Siberia (though a long way apart), I have a few bird questions left.

1 and 2: Can anyone give an ID for this warbler from Vladivostok on 2 May 2017? It didn't make any sound. The day was warm - over 20ºC and everyone was in T-shirts, but I think this is not typical weather for this date.

3: This photo is from Irkutsk on the 4th May. It was cold, and had been snowing. Is this a Siberian Chiffchaff (note the black legs)?

And this tiny bird flew in and out of some reeds on a small island (just a tiny blob, really) in the river in Irkutsk City, viewable from the stone bridge across the river in and to the park. I really have no idea, but maybe some BF genius will.

1-2 Yellow-browed Warbler
3 Siberian Chiffchaff
4-7 Could possibly be another Siberian Chiffchaff but a tough call from these images!

Grahame

Thank you Grahame.

In Japan we have a very restricted range of Warblers, so I don't have much experience, but what should I have been looking at to get this result (I'm not disputing it at all)? A few years ago, we had a Yellow-browed Warbler which spent the winter in Osaka Castle Park, a fifty-minute train ride away, but it was very raggedy by the time I saw it in March.

I'm glad to get Siberian Chiffchaff.

As to the three photos in the second post: I didn't expect to be able to catalogue it really, but Bird Forum has some people who could identify a one-pixel photo if the location was right, so it's always worth a try. It flew out from this low bunch of reeds from an island maybe fifty metres by twenty just in front of the concrete bridge we were on photographing a Citrine Wagtail (on a much larger island), hovered for a few seconds and flew back. It didn't strike me as a warbler at the time; I was wondering if they had some kind of penduline tit in the local birds. It came in and out three or four times, but it was so brief that these shots were all I could get.

MacNara said:

Thank you Grahame.

In Japan we have a very restricted range of Warblers, so I don't have much experience, but what should I have been looking at to get this result (I'm not disputing it at all)? A few years ago, we had a Yellow-browed Warbler which spent the winter in Osaka Castle Park, a fifty-minute train ride away, but it was very raggedy by the time I saw it in March.

Click to expand...

The combination of long super, rather fine, pale-based bill with dark tip, double-wing bars and you can just make out the darker centred greater coverts and primary bases. And, I should imagine its the commonest phylloscopus in that region.

Grahame

Grahame: Thank you very much for this detailed reply.

I agree with these IDs, including Siberian chiffchaff for the bird in #4-7.

Thank you John.