Pipit?, Tenerife, May '13 (1 Viewer)

M

mathare

Well-known member

• May 19, 2014

• #1

The missus was showing her parents some of our holiday photos last night and the Tenerife set came up. A couple of times I heard her say "No, I don't know what that one is" and had a feeling I would be posting in here again!

I dug the field guides out last night and had a root around and I think the first image is a pipit (Tree Pipit?). But I'm not sure the second bird is the same species. It seems to lack the lighter flash just below the cheek but I'm not sure if that's just the angle of the photo obscuring that area of the plumage.

As always, any ID clues anyone can provide would be most welcome :t:
Mat

 

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D

Dornmuck

Active member

• May 19, 2014

• #2

Hi Mat,

yes, it's a Pipit. The prominent supercilium doesn't fit to Tree Pipit.

I think it's a Berthelot's Pipit, but I'm not sure at all because I haven't been to the Canary Islands before.

Eckart

 

Southern Frogmouth

Well-known member

• May 19, 2014

• #3

Looks like Berthelot's Pipit to me.

Cheers

Roy

 

chris butterworth

aka The Person Named Above

• May 19, 2014

• #4

Agree with Berthelot's. The very fine bill, 'hollow centred' ear coverts and rather 'cute' expression rule out Tree, which would be rare in the Canaries.

 

M

mathare

Well-known member

• May 19, 2014

• #5

Coo, thanks everyone. That's very much a life tick then.

I only checked the Opus after posting (still not learned) to see that Tree Pipit wasn't on the checklist for Tenerife. Had I known that in advance I wouldn't have guessed at Tree.

Are the two images the same species or not though?

 

D

Dornmuck

Active member

• May 19, 2014

• #6

Are the two images the same species or not though?

Click to expand...

same prominent supercilium, yes, same species, probably same bird

Eckart

 

RafaelMatias

Unknown member

• May 19, 2014

• #7

Definitely Berthelot's Pipits. Additionally, any other pipit would be a rarity/scarcity on the Canaries.

 

M

mathare

Well-known member

• May 19, 2014

• #8

Awesome, thanks everyone :t:

 

Keith Dickinson

Well-known member

Opus Editor

• May 19, 2014

• #9

Agree with Rafael, the default pipit on the Canaries is Berthelot's - anything else is a rarity, even mipits

 

Stephen Dunstan

Registered User

• May 19, 2014

• #10

I don't think Meadow and Tree Pipit are really that scarce on Tenerife, certainly not rare. Regular passage migrants I think.

Stephen

 

D

Dornmuck

Active member

• May 19, 2014

• #11

Tree Pipit is a common migrant on the Canaries and Meadow Pipit is a fairly common winter visitor.

However, the photos were taken in May.

Eckart

 

B

Brian Stretch

Well-known member

• May 20, 2014

• #12

Dornmuck said:

Tree Pipit is a common migrant on the Canaries and Meadow Pipit is a fairly common winter visitor.

However, the photos were taken in May.

Eckart

Click to expand...

Agreed. I had plenty of Tree Pipits moving through Lanzarote during the last week of April, including a group of six on the outskirts of Playa Blanca. I guess they are probably more numerous passage migrants on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura than on the more westerly islands.

Brian
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