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Different birds / Sudan (1 Viewer)

Jose605

Jose605

Well-known member
Congo-Brazzaville
Here we go again with the Wheatears :-O I believe both are Desert..

I always struggle with the Firefinches... Any feedback will be most welcome.

The Sunbird I believe is Pygmy?

All birds were photographed in Tuti Island, outside Khartoum, during the month of October.

Thank you,

Jose
 

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Agree with the Wheatears, firefinch looks like Red billed (fully red head, red bill, utcs and lower belly greyish) unsure about the Sunbird - could be either Pygmy or Nile Valley, will defer to others with more field experience and knowledge of the area.
 
I can't help feeling that the wheatear IDs are a bit off.

Bird one (see attached enlargement) has a white side and a white tip to the tail, so should not be Desert Wheater. And the colouring seems wrong also.

Bird two seems to be the wrong colour for Desert Wheatear.

I'm not an expert, or even a well-informed amateur, but I doubt the IDs given. I'd go for Somali Wheatear m and f, even if it's theoretically out of range.
 

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Thank you, Daniel. You mean Red-billed for both of the Firefinches, right? Could be!

Nile Valley may be a more accurate ID for the Sunbird. Now that I'm checking they're more common in the area than the Pygmy.

Cheers!
 
Jose605 said:
Thank you, Daniel. You mean Red-billed for both of the Firefinches, right? Could be!

Nile Valley may be a more accurate ID for the Sunbird. Now that I'm checking they're more common in the area than the Pygmy.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Thanks MacNara! Somali Wheatear seems to be a bit out of range for Sudan. It seems the bird it's also present in Ethiopia, but only on places bordering Somalia.

I wonder what other Wheatear species could both birds be outside Desert and Somali.
 
MacNara said:
I can't help feeling that the wheatear IDs are a bit off.

Bird one (see attached enlargement) has a white side and a white tip to the tail, so should not be Desert Wheater. And the colouring seems wrong also.

Bird two seems to be the wrong colour for Desert Wheatear.

I'm not an expert, or even a well-informed amateur, but I doubt the IDs given. I'd go for Somali Wheatear m and f, even if it's theoretically out of range.
Click to expand...

I know nothing about either but note the very few pics of Somali in Macaulay suggest male should be a much more uniform darker grey than either of these photos. They also suggest a really pronounced supercilium, again more than here.
 
Jose605 said:
Thanks MacNara! Somali Wheatear seems to be a bit out of range for Sudan. It seems the bird it's also present in Ethiopia, but only on places bordering Somalia.

I wonder what other Wheatear species could both birds be outside Desert and Somali.
Click to expand...

I wonder how the distribution of these birds has been tracked given the history of Sudan (and now South Sudan), Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea...over my lifetime. In particular, do you think that the distribution of migrating birds in Sudan and South Sudan are of any level of reliability?
 
wheatear

Don't think it is Somali Wheatear - birds I saw and photographed on Ethiopia / Somali border area were all showing clearly marked grey crown. Even immatures that were browner on the back had grey crown.

I think one bird is Black-eared Wheatear (black-throated form) as black throat does not join the black wing as it does on Desert Wheatear.

I would also support Nile Valley for Sunbird.
 
dandsblair said:
Don't think it is Somali Wheatear - birds I saw and photographed on Ethiopia / Somali border area were all showing clearly marked grey crown. Even immatures that were browner on the back had grey crown.
Click to expand...

Both of these birds (OP's 1 and 2) seem to me to have a clearly marked grey crown.

And having looked at Somali Wheatear photos on Google photos, they seem to be a good fit to me.
 
MacNara said:
I wonder how the distribution of these birds has been tracked given the history of Sudan (and now South Sudan), Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea...over my lifetime. In particular, do you think that the distribution of migrating birds in Sudan and South Sudan are of any level of reliability?
Click to expand...
That's a very valid point.
 
dandsblair said:
Don't think it is Somali Wheatear - birds I saw and photographed on Ethiopia / Somali border area were all showing clearly marked grey crown. Even immatures that were browner on the back had grey crown.

I think one bird is Black-eared Wheatear (black-throated form) as black throat does not join the black wing as it does on Desert Wheatear.

I would also support Nile Valley for Sunbird.
Click to expand...
Thank you David! Not sure about the Black-eared Wheatear ID, but I think we got the Sunbird right :t:
 
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