Pratincole in Tajikistan - Collared or Black-winged? (1 Viewer)

[PhilSteiner]

I realize these photos provide very little to go on. I don't have any experience with either species. I can't make out the two distinguishing features of Collared - white on the trailing edge of the wings and chestnut underwing coverts. But the field guide stresses that those features can be hard to discern and as you can see, I didn't have fantastic views. This bird was giving a flight call like the second Collared Pratincole call in Merlin: single peeps. Listening to what Black-winged Pratincole flight calls on xeno-canto, it seems they mostly have a double-peep call, but I don't know if they always do. It seems that Collared Pratincoles sometimes have a single-peep call and sometimes a double-peep call. For what it's worth, we're in breeding range for Collared but Black-winged nest much further north, in Kazakhstan and Russia.

Photos taken today in Dushanbe.

 

[Muppit17]

I realize these photos provide very little to go on. I don't have any experience with either species. I can't make out the two distinguishing features of Collared - white on the trailing edge of the wings and chestnut underwing coverts. But the field guide stresses that those features can be hard to discern and as you can see, I didn't have fantastic views. This bird was giving a flight call like the second Collared Pratincole call in Merlin: single peeps. Listening to what Black-winged Pratincole flight calls on xeno-canto, it seems they mostly have a double-peep call, but I don't know if they always do. It seems that Collared Pratincoles sometimes have a single-peep call and sometimes a double-peep call. For what it's worth, we're in breeding range for Collared but Black-winged nest much further north, in Kazakhstan and Russia.

Photos taken today in Dushanbe.

I think, as you suspected, the photos are not good enough to be definitive.

Plumage wise, the only clue that comes though on these is the length of the outer tail feathers - they seem long. That and most of the other pointers suggest that it is a Collared. I can vouch for the difficulty of spotting both the trailing edge and even the underwing colour especially in harsh light.

Timing may also be a clue, Collared seem to arrive earlier in Central Asia than Black-winged. Not sure if that is any use and I think we may be in the cross over period anyway.

I tried telling the difference on calls in Botswana, where both winter in flocks 00s strong. I have to admit I gave up as I couldn't find any consistency - but as the flocks were often mixed and trying to confirm which was which was a constant difficulty.

 

[Butty]

There's a convincing hint of the underwing-covert-colour in pic 3. Collared pratincole.