Lesser Whitethroat... or ssp. minula? northern Iraq (1 Viewer)

sharifaone · May 2, 2017

While birding on the approaches to Iraq's highest mountain (Halgurd) 2 days ago, saw this bird and assumed it was Lesser Whitethroat (S. curruca). But now I realize I have more options to consider. The bird was above the treeline with just thorny bushes at approximately 2200 meters. The area is just a few short km from the border with NW Iran.

My question is: Given the geographical location/altitude/habitat, can I make any conclusions about it being Lesser Whitethroat, Desert Whitethroat (S. minula), or ssp. of Lesser Wh. such as halimodendri or althaea?

I have a few terrible pics... not much use. I didn't realize until I got home that perhaps I should pay more attention to such birds.

And just to show the tail:

sicklebill · May 2, 2017

Seems to have a small bill which is good for Desert Lesser. Did you hear it call by any chance?

sharifaone · May 2, 2017

sicklebill said:
Seems to have a small bill which is good for Desert Lesser. Did you hear it call by any chance?

No, sicklebill, I didn't hear it. In fact, I didn't even think to pay much attention to it until I went to enter my findings in eBird and realized that Desert Lesser Whitethroat was an option.

andyb39 · May 3, 2017

Well, it's not althaea, and it's not minula either, as this form has been shown to have a much more restricted range than previously supposed. It does look a bit like a Desert Lesser Whitethroat type. The form that most commonly occurs is in the region is halimodendri, but I would be cautious in labelling this bird by that name. Firstly, the bird is over-exposed and I'm having trouble understanding what its real plumage tones are. Secondly, the habitat and altitude are odd for this form. Halimodendri is a bird of wadis, semi-desert and dry plains with scattered trees, not 2200 m up a mountain.

If you look at the map in the attached article, it appears that the location seems to fall within the breeding range of curucca, perhaps the form caucasica, which might occur in this kind of habitat. Perhaps the size and paleness are clinal variation? It's hard to find images of this form. There are three on this page, although I don't know where they were taken or why they're captioned in Turkish:

http://www.patrickblakephotography.com/WAsianBirds/OWWarblers/

The whole complex is in any case a real mess at the moment.

KenM · May 3, 2017

andyb39 said:
Well, it's not althaea, and it's not minula either, as this form has been shown to have a much more restricted range than previously supposed. It does look a bit like a Desert Lesser Whitethroat type. The form that most commonly occurs is in the region is halimodendri, but I would be cautious in labelling this bird by that name. Firstly, the bird is over-exposed and I'm having trouble understanding what its real plumage tones are. Secondly, the habitat and altitude are odd for this form. Halimodendri is a bird of wadis, semi-desert and dry plains with scattered trees, not 2200 m up a mountain.

If you look at the map in the attached article, it appears that the location seems to fall within the breeding range of curucca, perhaps the form caucasica, which might occur in this kind of habitat. Perhaps the size and paleness are clinal variation? It's hard to find images of this form. There are three on this page, although I don't know where they were taken or why they're captioned in Turkish:

http://www.patrickblakephotography.com/WAsianBirds/OWWarblers/

The whole complex is in any case a real mess at the moment.

FWIW andy, here's a ''less than perfect image'' of a Lesser Whitethroat, that on the day October 4th 2014, shared the last annual date for a LW in the LNHS area. It's upper-parts were so pale, that when first seen (head being obscured) I could only compute Desert Warbler! Thus I too eventually assumed... Desert Lesser Whitethroat...presumed minula? As you say the taxa...needs ''looking at''. The bird was NE London in a suburban garden, thus they can, and do turn up ''anywhere'' on passage, clearly my bird was a long way from home.

PS It did state in the report for that year, that ''some'' (implying moi) thought that it was a Desert Lesser Whitethroat?.....am still struggling as to what other alternatives there might have been. :eek!:

Cheers

Lesser Whitethroat... or ssp. minula? northern Iraq (1 Viewer)

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sharifaone

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sicklebill

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