I got a fairly decent look at this bird - but getting a picture was beyond us amateur bird photographers! This bird was seen today, in northern Iraq (Kurdistan), in the foothills of low mountains, in a scrub and garden area on the edge of the city (Duhok).
The bird was first seen on the ground, and walked around a good deal. It then flew into low shrubbery, and perched on a fence a bit before flying away. It seemed a bit longer than the many house sparrows nearby, but was about their size. I assumed it was a warbler I hadn't seen before, but have had no luck looking up pictures so far. The bird's overall color was brownish, but it had a notably reddish rump (which contrasted with the muted back) and engaged in a lot of tail cocking and wagging. The tail was sort of fan shaped when cocked and the underside had both black and white, and I believe the tail had white tips, but I may have forgotten. The legs were pinkish, the bill was not extremely large or long. The face had a strong black eye-stripe, with a smaller white stripe above.
I've looked at warblers listed for this area and the Cetti's doesn't seem quite right (not a dark eye stripe, and maybe doesn't walk around a lot) - it has the wrong face markings for a Menetries... Or perhaps I'm in the wrong families! Does anyone have ideas of what other birds to consider?
The bird was first seen on the ground, and walked around a good deal. It then flew into low shrubbery, and perched on a fence a bit before flying away. It seemed a bit longer than the many house sparrows nearby, but was about their size. I assumed it was a warbler I hadn't seen before, but have had no luck looking up pictures so far. The bird's overall color was brownish, but it had a notably reddish rump (which contrasted with the muted back) and engaged in a lot of tail cocking and wagging. The tail was sort of fan shaped when cocked and the underside had both black and white, and I believe the tail had white tips, but I may have forgotten. The legs were pinkish, the bill was not extremely large or long. The face had a strong black eye-stripe, with a smaller white stripe above.
I've looked at warblers listed for this area and the Cetti's doesn't seem quite right (not a dark eye stripe, and maybe doesn't walk around a lot) - it has the wrong face markings for a Menetries... Or perhaps I'm in the wrong families! Does anyone have ideas of what other birds to consider?