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ID help: Acro or Hippolais warbler, Kolkata, India (1 Viewer)

Sumit

Well-known member
Hi Folks,
I shot this bird (s) a few years ago and have never been able to label it.
Image Details:
1.Bird was photographed at a city lake in urban Kolkata and was using the lower branches of a acacia which was touching water.
2.Date: 24/10/04 am
3.Size: 13cm
4.Only one bird seen but there were other birds including a Dusky warbler on the same acacia.
5. 6 images were shot in the space of a few minutes but the bird was moving and was lost for a while. I cannot vouch that all images posted are of the same bird.
6. The light was poor and flash was used resulting in colour aberration. So colour may not be a good ID guide here.
7. There is white on the outer tail feathers. That could be due to partial albinism?

Most think that this is an Acrocephalus warbler and the closest we have come is to a Blyth's Reed Warbler. But, there are features which seem inconsistent with Blyth's.
Other similar warblers in the area are Blunt-winged and Sykes's (H.rama)

Would appreciate the views of members.
Thanks!
Sumit
 

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Hi,
Would Paddyfield not show a dark brow over the white supercilium? This bird has none.
Sumit

Hi Sumit,

You're right but it's not always an obvious feature.
To me your bird has to be an Acrocephalus because of the rounded tail tip (square in Hippolais). I don't think it's a Blyth's because the alula looks darker than the wing coverts field and the supercilium extends well beyond the eye.
One thing that worries my is the supercilium, it looks a bit thin for Paddyfield.

Anyway I am no expert and I don't have experience of Blunt-winged Warbler. Better wait for more opinions....
 
Looks weird to me! Are those pale tips to contrastingly dark tail tips real? Might be worth expanding the pick list to include Prinias etc, before closing in. Though it does look a little 'wingy'
 
Looks weird to me! Are those pale tips to contrastingly dark tail tips real? Might be worth expanding the pick list to include Prinias etc, before closing in. Though it does look a little 'wingy'

Hi Jane,
Thanks!
It has been suggested that the pale tips could be due to wear or pigment loss. As flash was used, we can't be sure if they are significant or not. Any case, attached is a closeup of the tail.
Sumit
 

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IMO Blyth's Reed Warbler. Because of the cold brown-grey uppers. The extent of the supercilium after the eye. Leg colour. Relatively plain tertials. Short primary projection. Its crown in no way reminds me of Paddyfield, neither does the lack of rusty tone to the rump area. There's a slight flaring of the super before the eye, also, to me, redolent of Blyth's RW.

As stated, the flash used in this photo has caused "unnatural" shadows to be cast. And i think the "strangeness" of some of these images is borne of that.

That aside i feel there is enough here to identify the bird though...

1 vote for Blyth's!
 
After looking at the pics again, I agree that general impression is not really good for Paddyfield, especially head pattern. But on every pic, the alula looks blackish. AFAIK, this is not good for Blyth's...
 
Hi Folks,
Thanks. I do see a lot of wintering Blyth's and for some reason I am uncomfortable with that ID for this one. There are features like very long supercilium (too long for Blyth's in my opinion - should usually end a short distance behind the eye) and is usually less well defined than this. There are other small points like distinctly booted feet and the very dark tail that make this a very unusual Blyth's Reed to me. But given the lack of alternatives, or a better fit with anything else, I guess it would be pragmatic to label this as a Blyth's Reed.
 
From the description of Long-Billed in the Wikipedia link:

"The upper mandible is dark, but the cutting edges and entire lower mandible are pale. The tarsi, toes and claws appear pale brown. The hind claw is longer than in dumetorum. The tips of the tail feathers are pointed and more acutely lanceolate than in dumetorum or Acrocephalus concinens. The primary tips are broad and rather squarer. Recent observers note that it has a habit of fanning out its tail open as it forages."

Just look at the tail! It's very odd for a reed warbler, and strangely seems to fit the above summary. It is well fanned with distinctly pointed retrice tips......

This is what niggled at me, after my initial thinking it was a Blyth's.

Could Sumit have found the second Indian Long-Billed Warbler in 1 and a half centuries?????
 
Against orinus:
not so long billed bird and a relative short tail, also the size fits better to dumetorum...

First came to my mind fresh plumage (juv) dumetorum, although the tail maybe looks a little bit too rounded (pic 9036 #1)....???? But I have to think more on this case, because the sc is also a little bit weird...
 
Hi Folks,
Thanks again.
I'd pass Blunt-winged for this one. We see them in our area and I would be uncomfortable labeling it as such.
 
So? This definitely IS Blunt-Winged?
I have no literature on this species.
Could anyone provide good key ID features?
Thanx in anticipation!
 
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