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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Serengeti Tanzania Jan 2020 -2 (1 Viewer)

Two more birds to confirm Id,s

1-African marsh harrier or Montagu,s
2-Whinchat
 

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Never been to East Africa so don't know what options there are there, but #2 isn't a Whinchat; that has a plain breast without any spots or streaks in all plumages except fresh juvenile, and that is lost before they migrate south in autumn.
 
Never been to East Africa so don't know what options there are there, but #2 isn't a Whinchat; that has a plain breast without any spots or streaks in all plumages except fresh juvenile, and that is lost before they migrate south in autumn.
I've seen this plumage in Africa before.
Jean
 
Agree with Whinchat for #2. This could be a 2nd cal year bird: as soon as the buffish edges to breast feathers (of the "autumn plumage" that we see in Europe) become abraded the breast spotting becomes "harder", with well defined dark spots. Summer plumage is acquired before the spring migration through body moult in the winter quarters (unlike Stonechat, that gets its summer plumage through feather abrasion). Scroll down to the bottom of this page (here: http://deanar.org.uk/general/articles/whinchatmoult.htm) for a bird with a nice breast band that will surely result in a plumage similar to the OP bird as soon as the feather edges abrade in the winter quarters. Hope this helps.
 
Never been to East Africa so don't know what options there are there, but #2 isn't a Whinchat; that has a plain breast without any spots or streaks in all plumages except fresh juvenile, and that is lost before they migrate south in autumn.

Here's two examples of birds with well spotted breast (band):
- https://africanbirdclub.org/afbid/search/birddetails/random/1390/13791 (November, Nigeria)
- https://birdwatchingalentejo.com/whinchat-paapje-braunkelchen-cartaxo-nortenho-tarabilla-nortena/ (Autumn, Portugal, top photo)
 

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