?crested larks, Portugal & Spain (1 Viewer)

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #1

for the moment all of the attached (+the ones in the following post) are marked in my notes as ?crested lark, but seeing that there's a multitude of different larks that occur on the iberian peninsula, it could well be that some (or even most) of them are something different

can anyone help ?

the details :

(1) Cabo Vidio, Asturias
(2) Peniche, coast north of Lisbon
(3) + (4) Lagoas de Santo Andre, south-west coast of Portugal
(5) Amoreira Beach, south-western tip of Portugal

all taken in the last week of august and first half of september

 

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marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #2

continuation of the previous post

details of pics :

(6) Castro Verde, inland southern Portugal
(7) Mina de Sao Domingos, southern part of Portugal near Spain
(8) Ruinas Romanas de Sao Cucufate, south-central Portugal
(9) Evoramonte, south-central Portugal

 

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John Cantelo

Well-known member

• Sep 26, 2018

• #3

1 - Crested
2 - Crested although hard to be sure about bill shape ....
3 - Crested
4 - Crested
5 - Thekla - check the bill shape!
6 - Crested
7 - Crested
8 - Thekla - relatively short almost stubby bill
9 - hard to be sure as details of the plumage aren't clear and you can't accurately gauge bill length/shape but on closer examination leaning towards Thekla

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2018

S

Simon Wates

Well-known member

• Sep 26, 2018

• #4

First set look all Crested to me except the last (5), taken at Praia da Amoreira, which is a clear Thekla's.

PS; this beach is about 30kms north of the southwestern tip, ie; Cabo de São Vicente

Edit; I see John has responded - agree on all though not entirely happy with #8.

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2018

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #5

thanks for the help - unfortunately I don’t have any better pictures for the doubtful IDs, so probably will have to remain ?crested

 

John Cantelo

Well-known member

• Sep 26, 2018

• #6

Re-visiting No8 I'm still inclined towards Thekla. To me, the bill's lower mandible looks distinctly convex, the bill seems rather short, the crest shortish, the pale eye surround rather broad and it feels a tad stocky all of which point towards Thekla. On the other hand the bill seems a bit pale and when blown up the shape of the lower mandible less certain!

 

S

Simon Wates

Well-known member

• Sep 26, 2018

• #7

John Cantelo said:

Re-visiting No8 I'm still inclined towards Thekla. To me, the bill's lower mandible looks distinctly convex, the bill seems rather short, the crest shortish, the pale eye surround rather broad and it feels a tad stocky all of which point towards Thekla. On the other hand the bill seems a bit pale and when blown up the shape of the lower mandible less certain!

Click to expand...

Ok John - I'm just a bit worried about the rather sandy looking plumage overall, nothing else

 

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #8

Simon Wates said:

Ok John - I'm just a bit worried about the rather sandy looking plumage overall, nothing else

Click to expand...

that may be a consequence of overexposure ?

 

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #9

here's an earlier shot of the same bird, this time probably a bit underexposed

 

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Simon Wates

Well-known member

• Sep 26, 2018

• #10

Could well be simple overexposure. By the way, the south western coast of Portugal is one of the very few areas where Thekla's occur on a sandy substrate, at least in my experience. Its usually a bird of rocky ground with plenty of vegetation.

Edit: just seen the new pic - as the bird is less cropped its proportions now look right for Thekla's - nice and stocky rear body and short bill, at least for a Crested.

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2018

marnixR

WYSIWYG

• Sep 26, 2018

• #11

thanks again - this has helped me a lot