Strange Bird In Kruger Park South Africa (1 Viewer)

doug_newman · Mar 7, 2005

Hi All. I saw a strange warbler in Kruger Park South Africa. We could not find it in any of the field guieds. I wonder if it is not way out of range and was hoping someone from europe etc may recognize it.

nigelblake · Mar 7, 2005

It looks like a Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava) to me, its a pretty common resident and the tail length can be quite variable with wear, moult and regrowth taken into consideration.

doug_newman · Mar 7, 2005

Hi Nigel - Thanks for the reply. We thought though, with seeing the bird together with tawnyflanked prinias, that the bill was too heavy and far too yellow for TFP, plus it seems to have far more of a warbler look to it.

Do you think it is definitely a TFP?

Regards.

Doug

CJW · Mar 7, 2005

Looks like a TFP to me.

Steve Lister · Mar 7, 2005

Something weird going on here. Attached to Nigel's post is a thumbnail of the back end of a gull but when I click on it I see a TFP. Is it just me?

Steve

cuckooroller · Mar 7, 2005

Steve,
I see a thumbnail of the Prinia, and clicking get the Prinia.

nigelblake · Mar 7, 2005

TFP was my initial gut feeling when I opened the first picture, I still feel that that is what it is, however your desciption of it being a heavier billed more warbler like bird would suggest perhaps Croaking Cisticola (Cisticola natalensis) which is another common bird of the area that has a yellowish bill, but what I can see of the underside of the tail in your first image does'nt back that up, plus it does not have an obvious loral stripe as in the photo.

Taryn · Mar 7, 2005

Hi Doug

I assume you and Gordon are mates, because he asked about the same pictures

These are Pipits, please see my detailed response in his thread:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=29206

Taryn o

Steve Lister · Mar 7, 2005

cuckooroller said:
Steve,
I see a thumbnail of the Prinia, and clicking get the Prinia.

I still see the back end of a gull. And in Doug's first post I see two prinias (if thats what they are) and a gull behind a swan.

Help!!

Steve

nigelblake · Mar 7, 2005

These are most definitely not either of the Pipits mentioned by Taryn, firstly the jizz is totally wrong, both Pipits have some degree of striping on the breast and get darker towards the belly.
Judging by the fact they were seen in a small party by Englhardt dam, and fitting in with the time of year I am certain that what you had was a family party of TFPs, some newly fledged perhaps giving the heavier yellower billed appearance, the description of the call in the other thread backs up TFP too, loud continuous przzt przzt przzt.

keith_kdy · Mar 7, 2005

Steve Lister said:
Something weird going on here. Attached to Nigel's post is a thumbnail of the back end of a gull but when I click on it I see a TFP. Is it just me?

Steve

Hi steve, nothing wrong with your computer. I remember reading an explanation a couple of weeks ago under another thread. It is all because of the 'Big Crash' when a couple of months worth of posts were lost. Attachments are given sequential ID numbers. The ones from the lost posts are now getting used again but you must have an old one (the gull's rear end) lurking in your cache that matches the ID number of this TFP.

Clear your cache and try again and all should be well. Hope this helps.

Steve Lister · Mar 7, 2005

keith_kdy said:
Hi steve, nothing wrong with your computer. I remember reading an explanation a couple of weeks ago under another thread. It is all because of the 'Big Crash' when a couple of months worth of posts were lost. Attachments are given sequential ID numbers. The ones from the lost posts are now getting used again but you must have an old one (the gull's rear end) lurking in your cache that matches the ID number of this TFP.

Clear your cache and try again and all should be well. Hope this helps.

I did not even know I had a cache, so perhaps you can tell me how to clear it Keith?

Steve

cuckooroller · Mar 7, 2005

Steve,

Just clean your disc and delete all of the temporary internet files, or, alternatively, from your Control Panel call up the Internet Options and click where it says eliminate temporary internet files.

audi5e · Mar 8, 2005

nigelblake said:
These are most definitely not either of the Pipits mentioned by Taryn, firstly the jizz is totally wrong, both Pipits have some degree of striping on the breast and get darker towards the belly.
Judging by the fact they were seen in a small party by Englhardt dam, and fitting in with the time of year I am certain that what you had was a family party of TFPs, some newly fledged perhaps giving the heavier yellower billed appearance, the description of the call in the other thread backs up TFP too, loud continuous przzt przzt przzt.

For comparison here is a pic of a TFP that was there at the time, as you can see, very different jizz, plus smaller thinner bill. Another point is that the two birds that were present flew off while the prinia's stayed in the tree.

Taryn · Mar 8, 2005

audi5e said:
For comparison here is a pic of a TFP that was there at the time, as you can see, very different jizz, plus smaller thinner bill. Another point is that the two birds that were present flew off while the prinia's stayed in the tree.

I am still adamant that those birds are Pipits, don't discount them just because they are in a tree. A prinia has a Black beak, very different from the yellow beak of the bird in question... not only the colour but the shape and size is wrong for a Prinia beak. The bird in question is not a Prinia.

The Pipits are the ONLY birds in the guide with a yellow beak and pink/red legs. The only other options are a couple of storks, which I am pretty certain this bird is not

Taryn o

david_elkon · Mar 8, 2005

I think it is defintely an Egyptian Vulture. The White belly, the heavy, savage yellow bill and the way thoes vicious talons are grip[ping that poor defenceless branch, can only be an Egyptian vulture. I have seen lots of Egyptian Vultures and they all look exactly like this.

nigelblake · Mar 8, 2005

Only male Prinias have black bills during breeding, the rest of the year they have yellowish brown bills, as do females and juvenile birds. the colour can be seen in the image I posted earlier.

Andy Bright · Mar 8, 2005

Non I.D. but could those attaching images remember to attach jpg. format instead of bmp. 650kb for an image not much larger than a thumbnail is not very efficient.
I've changed them to jpg where needed.

Thanks,
Andy

david_elkon · Mar 8, 2005

Egyptian Vulture people! Who agrees with me?

Andy Bright · Mar 8, 2005

david_elkon said:
Egyptian Vulture people! Who agrees with me?

I hope you're suffering from a similar technical problem to Steve Lister, he saw a gull's backside

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