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Iberian chiffchaff or Willow warbler (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter depajareomalaga
- Start date
RogerioRodrigues
Rogerio
Not a Iberian chiffchaff , legs should be dark.
Agree.
depajareomalaga
Member
I agree. Thank you all.
John Cantelo
Well-known member
Checking the primary projection on a blown up version of the first photo shows a primary projection of 90% (compared to tertial length) which firmly puts Willow Warbler territory (80-100% primary projection). Iberian is usually given as 70% and Common as 60%. However, given individual variation and the problems of accurately measuring this feature from photographs, I remain unconvinced that this feature is always 100% reliable as I'd be surprised if there's not a degree of overlap with some Willow Warblers at the upper end of Iberian's range or, come to that, with some Common Chiffchaffs at the other end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, I've no concrete evidence of this .... does anyone?
depajareomalaga
Member
Thank you John. It's very interesting what you're talking about. But it's very difficult to see that in the field. Rather I consider it a fact to have the bird in hand. Although it can also be seen in photo.
According to your rule, then this is a Common chiffchaff?
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John Cantelo
Well-known member
Apologies for not making myself clear. A primary projection of 90% shows it to be a Willow Warbler. I agree that primary projection is best judged in the hand or in photos but the shortest winged Common Chiffchaffs and longer winged Willows should be distinguishable in the field. Iberians are harder, of course. Perhaps because of the name, people tend not to fully appreciate that distinguishing a non-vocalising Iberian Chiffchaff from a Willow Warbler can be, in my view, as hard (or sometimes harder) than telling them from Common Chiffchaff. This is illustrated by the fact, which few today realise, that for decades the Iberian Chiffchaffs in western Andalucia were thought to be odd Willow Warblers.
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