Greater Kruger part 4, ZA (1 Viewer)

njlarsen · Sep 10, 2011

Dear all,
thanks for the help on the previous threads.

1 and 2 are the same raptor, and most likely too far away; inside Kruger NP
3 I believe this kingfisher is Brown-headed (and not as I initially thought striped); but what about the dark tip to the bill
4 I am still thoroughly confused with weavers and allies
5 Is this African Firefinch?

thanks
Niels

Andy Hartley · Sep 10, 2011

The kingfisher and finch look right, not sure about the others though
Andy

MariettaBirder · Sep 10, 2011

I think: #4 are Blue Waxbill (fairly cofident) and maybe female Southern Red Bishop?? #5 looks like a it could be a juv. Jameson's Firefinch. I agree that #3 is a Brown-headed Kingfisher. I'll leave the raptor to TIB or other expert on African birds

njlarsen · Sep 10, 2011

Thanks for the help so far. I should have mentioned that I am also confident in the Blue Waxbill, it is the other bird in image 4 that I have some doubts about.

Niels

Tib78 · Sep 11, 2011

I agree with MariettaBirder on the IDs given.

The finch is indeed Jameson's firefinch (but a female not a juv, note for example the red lores), a female African firefinch would be much greyer overall and not buff/brown.

The female Euplectes looks good for Southern red Bishop, the face pattern and amount of breast streaking look fine, the yellow tinge to the fore-supercilium too. The Blue waxbills offer good size comparison too, a female Fan-tailed widowbird (another contender) would appear bigger compared to the waxbills.

The raptor isn't really IDable, but it's most probably a Tawny Eagle.

njlarsen · Sep 11, 2011

Thanks Tib. Is it common for Brown-headed Kingfisher to have that amount of dark on the bill? I must admit it threw me for a loop.

Niels

Tib78 · Sep 11, 2011

This should answer your question Niels

: http://www.google.fr/search?q=brown...&ei=HBNtTreTOMGd-waN58GbDg&sqi=2&ved=0CCgQsAQ

MacNara · Sep 12, 2011

I haven't seen either of the birds mentioned for photo 4, so this is a request for education.

The Sinclair et al guide would make me think that Southern Red Bishop (10-11cm) would be noticeably smaller than Blue Waxbill (13cm), and not much larger as that other bird looks to me. At first glance, I'd have gone for a Village Weaver, just from the relative sizes. Is the Sinclair size difference all in the tail length?

MacNara · Sep 13, 2011

Excuse me for coming back on this one. When I visited East Africa, I pretty much missed out on bishops and widowbirds, and I haven't been to South Africa (Namibia is rather different), so this comment is based just on bookwork.

It still seems to me that the middle bird is noticeably larger than the two Blue Waxbills (male at the back, female with her rear facing us at the front).

So, if it's Euplectes, why not female or juvenile Yellow Bishop, which is given as 15cm against the 10-11 of Southern Red Bishop (and 13 of Blue Waxbill)? And the yellow around the eye and the hint of yellow on the wing, ought to say something to the expert. Or could it be female/juvenile of one of the other Widows, perhaps White-winged?

njlarsen · Sep 13, 2011

I obviously am interested in Mac's questions as well. However, I do not believe it is White-winged Widow: that should be the one attached here (which had yellow on the shoulder seen in flight). And I am of course interested in confirmation of that.

Niels

Tib78 · Sep 14, 2011

MacNara said:
The Sinclair et al guide would make me think that Southern Red Bishop (10-11cm) would be noticeably smaller than Blue Waxbill (13cm), and not much larger as that other bird looks to me. At first glance, I'd have gone for a Village Weaver, just from the relative sizes. Is the Sinclair size difference all in the tail length?

In my opinion yes, no Euplectes is/look smaller than a Blue Waxbill in the field, ever. Even golden Bishop, the smallest Euplectes, would appear more stocky and bulkier than a waxbill. The fact that the OP bird is very short-tailed point towards one of the smaller bishop.

The identification of female-plumaged Euplectes is notoriously difficult, not only they all look alike but the various species readily flock together. So you commonly get flocks with several species including females, non-breeding and transition male, immatures etc...

The OP bird is still more likely to be a SRB to me.

A female Yellow Bishop would be typically more streaked on the underparts and the crown (thus appearing darker overall). I would also expect a longer tail.
A female White-winged Bishop would be much longer tailed with an obvious supercilium and a darker crown.

MacNara · Sep 14, 2011

Thanks for replying, Tib. Since I've never seen either, I'm grateful for your observations. In my mind, I can't get over how very much bigger the Euplectes looks than the female Waxbill which is nearer the camera than the Euplectes. But we all know that size in photos can be deceptive - e.g maybe the streaking makes the bird look subjectively bigger than a more uniform colouring.

Greater Kruger part 4, ZA (1 Viewer)

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