Reed Warbler - Kolkata, India (1 Viewer)

[sbiswas.geo]

I know it is a tough ask, but is there any possibility that this could be a Large-billed Reed Warbler, and not a Blyth's? It was foraging rather openly at mid-level on an Acacia (usually, the wintering Blyth's here keep themselves within bushes and undergrowths) and the bill looked larger than typical. Taken just a week ago. I do not have any more photos and I did not see it fanning its tail.

 

[sbiswas.geo]

@Grahame Walbridge @andyb39 - may I ask?

 

[Tote]

Not the best angle, etc but I would go for a Clamorous RW.

 

[andyb39]

Grahame is taking a break from the forum - I hope he'll be back soon.

How large would you say this bird was? Something about its posture and the long tail reminds me of one of the larger Acros. The bird has a long supercilium without the typical loral bulge of Blyth's Reed, and it has a long gape, with an orange-yellow base to the bill. There also seem to be streaks running down the underside, so have you considered Oriental Reed? I'm not sure the bill is thick enough though. I'm not sure the bill looks long enough for Clamorous either. Blyth's can forage higher up and can sometimes adopt a more upright posture, and can look quite long-tailed when it closes is tail, so I may be wrong.

I don't know much about Large-billed, but I know it's the same size as Blyth's and in most respects pretty similar.

Are these the only images you have?

 

[sbiswas.geo]

Not the best angle, etc but I would go for a Clamorous RW.

It was smaller than a Clamorous. Call was like a Blyth's and a large undertail covert is visible.

 

[sbiswas.geo]

Grahame is taking a break from the forum - I hope he'll be back soon.

How large would you say this bird was? Something about its posture and the long tail reminds me of one of the larger Acros. The bird has a long supercilium without the typical loral bulge of Blyth's Reed, and it has a long gape, with an orange-yellow base to the bill. There also seem to be streaks running down the underside, so have you considered Oriental Reed? I'm not sure the bill is thick enough though. I'm not sure the bill looks long enough for Clamorous either. Blyth's can forage higher up and can sometimes adopt a more upright posture, and can look quite long-tailed when it closes is tail, so I may be wrong.

I don't know much about Large-billed, but I know it's the same size as Blyth's and in most respects pretty similar.

Are these the only images you have?

About the same size as Blyth's. The streaking is unusual but it did not remind me of an Oriental (which I have seen only once). Its call was similar to Blyth's and undertail covert looked large (visible in photo). The odd bill caught my eye. It looked heavy for a Blyth's RW.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I see very grey legs, a feature of Clamorous IIRC?

 

[Butty]

It was smaller than a Clamorous

About the same size as Blyth's

Judging the size of a lone bird is notoriously unreliable.

 

[sbiswas.geo]

Judging the size of a lone bird is notoriously unreliable.

True, but the size comparison was done against the leaves of the acacia. This bird gave out a chk-chk call similar to Blyth's. Clamorous gives a hard chuck call and it has a more prominent, longer supercilium, often with a peaked crown. This bill looks weaker for a Clamorous to me. Field behaviour was not like Clamorous either, which often perches in open and pumps its tail. Additionally, I have never seen a Clamorous foraging in Acacia in India. They are almost always in reedbeds, along with Paddyfield Warblers and Black-browed Reed Warbler. Blyth's and idunas are typically found in Acacia, together with Dusky and Chiffcaff.

 

[Tote]

Having seen and heard it in the field is an advantage over the photo watchers so perhaps it´s a brut-looking Blyth´s.
Whether it´s a Large-billed RW, I can´t tell.

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

Hi Sandeep, apologies for the delay in replying. It is nigh impossible to make an unequivocal ID, the images are less than ideal, added to which, the subject is in shadow. The profile of the bill seems within range of Blyth's, albeit at the heavier end, though not unduly long, but note, there is a (small?) overlap in biometrics between the two species. Face pattern is tricky to assess since its in shadow, likewise precise bill pattern and iris colour. The odds are stacked with Blyth's though, with no experience of Large-billed, I am hardly in a position to exclude that option.

The calls would appear to be very similar, a hard 'ch'k' and a rolling 'trrrt'.

Andy, I am seeing a pinkish-based bill and the apparent underpart streaking is surely a product of feather alignment; streaking on Oriental is more defined (finer) and far more restricted. I can see some feather loss around the gape + the odd feather in pin, indications the bird is in (pre-breeding) body moult which might help explain the more obvious gape line.

Grahame

 

[sbiswas.geo]

I got these images reviewed by Lars Svensson. He opined this is "most probably" a Large-billed Reed Warbler.