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Brighter chiffchaff? or......? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tarves57
- Start date
mike coleman
BF Irregular
tarves57 said:
This one is a Willow Warbler, Susan. It is similar to a Wood Warbler, but the Wood has slightly longer wings, and has a much fuller, brighter yellow throat with a much cleaner white belly. In spring, the Willow is quite yellow, as you can see. Chiffchaffs are also fairly similar, but have dark legs. If you can hear them sing, it's a give-away. Chiffchaffs say chiff-chaff, Wood Warblers apparently sound like a coin spinning on a table (or an accelerating trill - really quite a nice, and unfortunately very localised sound), and Willow Warblers don't sound like either of those! There are loads just about to arrive, so it shouldn't take too long to learn....
Reader
Well-known member
My money would be on Willow warbler. The primary projection doesn't look long enough for Wood Warbler.
You can see that this bird is singing. Surely you heard it and if so can you describe the song. Was it a song that was fairly strong to start with and then gradually faded away, almost in a sorrowful tone?
You can see that this bird is singing. Surely you heard it and if so can you describe the song. Was it a song that was fairly strong to start with and then gradually faded away, almost in a sorrowful tone?
mike coleman
BF Irregular
Reader said:
Thamks Reader, I've never realised how tough it was describing a Willow Warbler song!
tarves57
Well-known member
Reader said:
I think I know what a chiffchaff sounds like now, and it definitely wasn't chiffchaffing....
. Usually I am so intent on trying to get a photo before the bird flies off that I am concentrating more on that, but I believe it could be called warbling! I did hear another bird though that I purposely tried to find, following the song. I sent a rather vague photo of that one in another post in this forum.
I'll certainly be listening more intently as well as looking from now on!
Susan
mike coleman
BF Irregular
It really is a multi-tasking hobby these days.........
tarves57
Well-known member
It's very hard to tell, isn't it!pduxon said:
From what you have all told me, the main identification points are leg colour and song.
1)Wood Warbler - pale legs, white underparts, brighter yellow upperparts, longer wings, warbles.
2)Willow warbler - drabber yellow upperparts, darker legs, warbles.
3)Chiffchaff - more beige than yellow upperparts, very dark legs, chiffchaffs.
mike coleman
BF Irregular
tarves57 said:
Woodies trill, like a high-pitched machine. Just to confuse you further, Wood Warblers probably haven't arrived yet, and are really local. Not the type of bird to just pop up in The Botanics or Princes Street Gardens. The other two will. And do. And are there now!
