Cuckoo? - Extremadura (2 Viewers)

[John Fordham]

This pair of birds were hidden in the undergrowth. Size was about 3x that of a sparrow. Then the front bird flew off leaving result shown in 2nd picture.

I think adult + immature cuckoo. Could you confirm.

Cheers
John

 

[totaljohn]

deifinitely not cuckoos, look at the bill to start. pretty certain they're corn buntings.

 

[John Fordham]

deifinitely not cuckoos, look at the bill to start. pretty certain they're corn buntings.

I 'think' they were too large for Corn Buntings but ...

I was in a hide when noticed these birds, having kindly been invited in by a staff member from Montfrague NP and she couldn't ID these.

There were sparrows in bush right next door and this gave us immediate size comparison. As I said above - seemed to be ~3x larger.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Certainly not cuckoos.

 

[BobTag]

I 'think' they were too large for Corn Buntings but ...

I was in a hide when noticed these birds, having kindly been invited in by a staff member from Montfrague NP and she couldn't ID these.

There were sparrows in bush right next door and this gave us immediate size comparison. As I said above - seemed to be ~3x larger.

Sorry John, maybe you've not posted the pics of the right birds, but these show sparrows, either House or quite possibly Spanish.

BT

 

[nickderry]

the first pic surely shows a corn bunting, no? the second one appears to be a sparrow, but is really anyone's guess.

 

[John Fordham]

Sorry John, maybe you've not posted the pics of the right birds, but these show sparrows, either House or quite possibly Spanish.

BT

Definitely right birds posted. I am totally baffled. I understand fully all the responses but two of us present agreed that these birds were much larger than the sparrows that were there - I think the size led to the local Montfrague staff member not being able to give an ID.

 

[BobTag]

the first pic surely shows a corn bunting, no? the second one appears to be a sparrow, but is really anyone's guess.

Hey Nick, yeah I could squint a lot and find Corn Bunt features on the first photo, so certainly not going to argue it! As you say, anyone's guess - at least CB's are bigger than sparrows...

John, for future reference, this is what a Cuckoo looks like; http://http://breakspics.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cuckoo1.gif

BT

 

[Chris Benesh]

John, for future reference, this is what a Cuckoo looks like; http://http://breakspics.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cuckoo1.gif

fixed link:
http://breakspics.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cuckoo1.gif

 

[John Fordham]

Hey Nick, yeah I could squint a lot and find Corn Bunt features on the first photo, so certainly not going to argue it! As you say, anyone's guess - at least CB's are bigger than sparrows...

John, for future reference, this is what a Cuckoo looks like; http://http://breakspics.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/cuckoo1.gif

BT

Thanks for the education Bob and Chris B . I was clutching at straws when suggesting Cuckoo as was trying to think of a bird that was ~3x larger than a sparrow:

1. I did know that bill was wrong but was thinking that maybe there was an illusion on shape created by background vegetation
2. was trying to think of a species where one bird was grey (the front bird in picture) and one bird was brown (the background bird) and hence thought of cuckoo + immature cuckoo.

:smoke:

I think there was some sort of sense although totally wrong.

Although totally agree that match Corn Bunting and Sparrow, I still cannot get my head around them visually being too large (were two of us totally batty).:stuck:

Cheers
John

 

[Chris Benesh]

Thanks for the education Bob and Chris B . I was clutching at straws when suggesting Cuckoo as was trying to think of a bird that was ~3x larger than a sparrow:

Hi John

There was no editorial intent to my last post, I simply wanted to repost the link so that it worked, honest. That said, I think that both birds in your photos are Corn Buntings. The grayer, worn looking bird (in front in the first image) looks like an adult, while the browner, crisper looking bird with blacker centers to visible scapulars and nice pale tips to the secondary coverts is probably a juvenile. They both have very blank face patterns, and I don't see the brown one as a Passer sparrow.

All I can say is that the human brain has trouble processing certain things at certain times, and it tends to fail horribly at times in estimating size and distances. While the size may seem way off, the plumage fits, as does likelihood.

Chris

 

[BobTag]

2. was trying to think of a species where one bird was grey (the front bird in picture) and one bird was brown (the background bird) and hence thought of cuckoo + immature cuckoo.

John, don't forget that Eurasian Cuckoos are brood parasites, so the closer an adult Cuckoo will get to its young is when the female lays its single egg and clear off...

 

[rosbifs]

Just an ouside thought based on bill but could it be Rock Sparrow? Don't know whether they exist in area and haven't seen one myself but......

I did think Corn Bunting on first view.

 

[John Fordham]

John, don't forget that Eurasian Cuckoos are brood parasites, so the closer an adult Cuckoo will get to its young is when the female lays its single egg and clear off...

Yes. Silly me. Couldn't be Cuckoo |:$| - which we know its not anyway.

Thanks for all the input everyone. To save embarrassing myself further in a new thread, can I ask a (somewhat) related question. Is the attached picture a Corn Bunting? I would have said 'yes' but have been worried about the yellow belly.

Cheers
John

 

[Barred Wobbler]

That's a corn bunting. The yellow belly is either a reflection or a colour-cast in the photo.

 

[rob stoff]

Yes. Silly me. Couldn't be Cuckoo |:$| - which we know its not anyway.

Thanks for all the input everyone. To save embarrassing myself further in a new thread, can I ask a (somewhat) related question. Is the attached picture a Corn Bunting? I would have said 'yes' but have been worried about the yellow belly.

Cheers
John

looks like a lark to me, perhaps Lesser Short-toed, can't really see a yellow belly

Rob

 

[Cristian Mihai]

This one could be a Corn Bunting, but, as Rob said, because the pic is blurred, it's relative hard to rule out a lark.

For comparison, some pics with Corn Buntings (links and attached):
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/196725/ppuser/54311
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/195516/ppuser/54311

Cristian

Yes. Silly me. Couldn't be Cuckoo |:$| - which we know its not anyway.

Thanks for all the input everyone. To save embarrassing myself further in a new thread, can I ask a (somewhat) related question. Is the attached picture a Corn Bunting? I would have said 'yes' but have been worried about the yellow belly.

Cheers
John

 

[John Fordham]

This one could be a Corn Bunting, but, as Rob said, because the pic is blurred, it's relative hard to rule out a lark.

Cristian

Attached is another picture of the bird that may help - this also seems to show a yellow belly but, as Alan comments, may be a colour artefact.

Cheers

John

 

[nickderry]

that is definitely a corn bunting now, the yellow is just a reflection on the underside of the belly (think buttercups under your chin). I was hesitant to call it a corn bunting on the last photo as Rob and Cristian pointed out, it was hard to rule out a lark, but it is a corn bunting based on this photo.

 

[rosbifs]

Could it be Calandra Lark - the original question that is not the latest.