What bird is this? Singapore Dec 2016 (1 Viewer)

[TwiddlingThumbs]

The photo is not good but I hope someone will be able to tell me what this bird is. This is the only shot I had of this bird.

I've gone through the list of birds that have the "hood" on the head but none of them fits what I see in this photo.

My list included :
1) Male Common Iora in breeding plumage - the belly would have been yellow
2) Golden-bellied Gerygone - belly would have been yellow
3) Male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - belly would have been yellow as well
4) Kingfishers - Collared or Black-capped would have been too big
5) Shrikes - Shape and size does not fit

One of the birds on the Singapore list is the Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike but is rare. The white wing bar in the photo does not fit the Flycatcher-shrike. There is a Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike but I don't believe it occurs in Singapore.

I may be missing the obvious. Appreciate any help!

 

[Andy Adcock]

What about House Sparrow?


A

 

[TwiddlingThumbs]

Certainly a possibility, Andy, although the House Sparrow is also listed as rare in Singapore. I've only ever seen it on my travels in Thailand and Melbourne. The white wing bar does fit a House Sparrow though.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Andy Adcock]

Certainly a possibility, Andy, although the House Sparrow is also listed as rare in Singapore. I've only ever seen it on my travels in Thailand and Melbourne. The white wing bar does fit a House Sparrow though.

Thanks for your input!

Thinking about it, Yellow-throated Sparrow (Chestnut-shouldered Petronia) is more likely?


A

 

[rockfowl]

Looks like a female Flycatcher-shrike to me.

 

[TwiddlingThumbs]

Andy, the Yellow-throated Sparrow is not on the Singapore list.

Thanks, Mark! You seem pretty sure about it being a Flycatcher-shrike.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Looks like a female Flycatcher-shrike to me.

Can't quite see that Mark?

A

 

[andyb39]

I don't think the wingbar is actually there - if you look carefully, there's a similar bluish-white spot on the side of the neck. The bill is much too long and the wrong shape for House Sparrow, which is only found on Jurong, apparently (introduction). I think Mark is right with female Flycatcher-shrike - it must be Black-winged, the only species found in Singapore.

http://singaporebirds.blogspot.ae/2012/06/family-campephagidae.html

 

[johnallcock]

It looks like a female Ashy Minivet to me - white spot in wing, dark primaries with paler coverts/tertials, white outer tail feathers, and I think dark lores (seeming to have a paler forehead). The tail looks a bit short but that could well be an illusion caused by the angle.
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=68102&Bird_ID=2308&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=

 

[TwiddlingThumbs]

I think Andy is correct with regard to the bluish-white spot. However, Ashy Minivet is probably more likely than a Flycatcher-shrike. Personally, I would have liked it to be a Flycatcher-shrike. Oh well...I'll just have to learn to take better pictures.

Thanks guys. Cheers!

 

[Bryon Wright]

Twiddling Thumbs,
Think you do have a flycatcher shrike there. As you say the only problem is that it is an higher elevation bird. The lowland representative could possibly photograph with an apparent wing bar. Females are funny like that!

 

[viator]

Ashy Minivet for me

 

[andyb39]

Having toyed with the image a little (see attached), I think there is a white brow contrasting with the darker crown, in addition to the features John mentioned, and I think perhaps the wingbar is there after all - it's just caught the light in the same way that the white side to the nape has. So I think it has to be Ashy Mininvet, perhaps a female resembling this individual:

http://m5.i.pbase.com/o4/97/484697/1/54309115.3513111805web.jpg

What I don't like is how large the bill seems to be - it seems to protrude beyond the branch. Most Ashy Minivets seem to have smallish short bills.

A difficult photograph!

 

[TwiddlingThumbs]

Thanks for taking the time to look into this further, Andy! Your "manipulated" photo and the photo in the link provided certainly points to an Ashy Minivet.

 

[rockfowl]

I think John was spot on too. There was something niggling me, and having looked again, the primary extension is too long for a Shrike-flycatcher. Although the short-tailed illusion is better corrected with the manipulated image, it still goes to show how much digital images can manipulate and mislead proportions sometimes.

 

[Andy Adcock]

it still goes to show how much digital images can manipulate and mislead proportions sometimes.

This is why you're just about the only 'pro' who's prepared to chip in on these regularly!

Andy

 

[rockfowl]

Thanks for the compliment!