Warbler (?) from Maastricht, NL (1 Viewer)

[Thibaud]

Hi everybody,

A friend of mine took these photos near Maastricht (southern Netherlands) in mid-May, and with that angle and light, I'm just not sure what it is (chiffchaff? icterine?, something completely different and completely obvious?).
What say the experts?

As always, many thanks in advance.

T

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
I dont get an Hippolais vibe from this:

• bill seems too short
• tail seems too narrow based and not broad/full enough
• more, your warbler seems to have a notched tail, where the notch distracts shape from a slightly rounded=full or square-cut shape
• I think the head-pattern doesnt give the open-face impression an ID-book Hippolais warbler would give

Yes, this isnt easy to judge here (no offense as allways), but I think its either a Chiffchaff or a Willow Warbler. And I am in the WW-camp here: head pattern with chinese-eyed eye-stripe, pale ear-coverts and long (but yes, not prominent=striking) supercilium together with smooth yellowish colours (I think they give the Icterine-jizz here) are better for a WW than for a Chiffchaff. But I struggle to rule out a Chiffchaff with confidence here.

 

[Thibaud]

Great, thanks Alexander!!