Sykes's or Booted Warbler? Bangalore, Dec (1 Viewer)

Lerxst · Dec 10, 2018

All:

Please find images of a bird seen recently just north of Bangalore, India (Dec 2018). Our guide called this a Booted, but I am thinking it is Sykes's. As it was quite busy with the food item, it was not calling, so I have nothing to go on there.

Leg color, forehead shape, extent of supercilium - all this looks consistent with the Sykes's. Hard to see all of the lower mandible, though.

Any comments are greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Michael

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/bootedwarbler1.jpg?w=1280

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/war2.jpg?w=1280

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/war3.jpg?w=1280

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/war4.jpg?w=1280

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/war5.jpg?w=1280

https://legallyblindbirding.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/war6.jpg?w=1280

Grahame Walbridge · Dec 10, 2018

Booted IMO Michael.

OK you cannot get a clear view of the bill, which does appear to have an unmarked lower mandible, but that is perfectly OK, many features overlap. The supercilium is broad and does extend over and beyond the eye (image 5) but is rather burnt out in some of your images + dark loral spot and dark line behind eye visible. Head shape varies with posture, Booted can appear flat headed though it looks more typical in bottom image.The tail looks consistently short in all the images, too short for Sykes's though I'd suggest pp at c50% is at the lower end (top end Sykes's), but note 6 visible primary tips favours Booted. The plumage tones are altogether too warm for Sykes's and the dark centres to the tertials clearly visible, lacking in Sykes's. There is much overlap in leg colour and it varies with light conditions, but note the darker toes which is a feature of Booted.

Grahame

Andy Adcock · Dec 10, 2018

Pours water on the 'milky tea' feature that we're historically told to look for in the species, this is much warmer than I'd expect from Booted or is that now a feature of Sykes's since the split?

Grahame Walbridge · Dec 10, 2018

andyadcock said:
Pours water on the 'milky tea' feature that we're historically told to look for in the species, this is much warmer than I'd expect from Booted or is that now a feature of Sykes's since the split?

Andy, plumage differences between Booted and Sykes's are very subtle at best and vary according to state of wear (v.fresh in this case), light conditions and, in this instance, the vagaries of colour reproduction of images. The bird looks quite brown above and buff below, too saturated for Sykes's which is a subtly paler, more uniform bird. Regarding the 'milky tea' analogy, the Collins Bird Guide (p326) describes Sykes's Average paler and plainer than Booted, being more milky-tea-coloured above and whitish below. I am not describing any new features.

Grahame

Muppit17 · Dec 11, 2018

Grahame Walbridge said:
Booted IMO Michael.

OK you cannot get a clear view of the bill, which does appear to have an unmarked lower mandible, but that is perfectly OK, many features overlap. The supercilium is broad and does extend over and beyond the eye (image 5) but is rather burnt out in some of your images + dark loral spot and dark line behind eye visible. Head shape varies with posture, Booted can appear flat headed though it looks more typical in bottom image.The tail looks consistently short in all the images, too short for Sykes's though I'd suggest pp at c50% is at the lower end (top end Sykes's), but note 6 visible primary tips favours Booted. The plumage tones are altogether too warm for Sykes's and the dark centres to the tertials clearly visible, lacking in Sykes's. There is much overlap in leg colour and it varies with light conditions, but note the darker toes which is a feature of Booted.

Grahame

I was struck by just how long the undertail coverts were compared with the tips of the primaries especially in war3 picture.

I am not sure that 1W Blyth's RW has been excluded, especially as in HWPB has a photo of a 1W in Sri Lanka on p447 that looks frightening similar.

Looking at all the features I do believe that it is a 1W bird. For me the flanks are too warm for Booted and extreme for Sykes. However the back/wings are too heavily marked for Sykes.

Grahame Walbridge · Dec 11, 2018

Muppit17 said:
I was struck by just how long the undertail coverts were compared with the tips of the primaries especially in war3 picture.

I am not sure that 1W Blyth's RW has been excluded, especially as in HWPB has a photo of a 1W in Sri Lanka on p447 that looks frightening similar.

Looking at all the features I do believe that it is a 1W bird. For me the flanks are too warm for Booted and extreme for Sykes. However the back/wings are too heavily marked for Sykes.

Booted and Sykes's are both short-winged, the wing tip falls short of the longest undertail coverts e.g http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=1756&Location=

For the benefit of those who don't have a copy of HWPB the OP looks nothing like your example, neither in terms of plumage nor structure. Suggest you read the caption below before making such a wildly inaccurate statement.

Quote Blyth's Reed Warbler can sometimes resemble Sykes's or Olivaceous Warblers, especially the former. However, Blyth's Reed is darker grey-brown above, has different bill shape, more rounded tail, more curved outline to folded primaries, and relatively longer undertail coverts. The bird has a rather unusual broad pale loral area.

It is not possible to age the bird as, by this date, all adults and a good proportion of 1st-w's have undergone a complete moult so will be in fresh plumage The warm buff flanks are typical of birds in fresh plumage.

Grahame

Brian J Small · Dec 11, 2018

Muppit...

There are other reasons this is a Booted and not BRW - 4 emarginations and their spacing, lack of tail graduation amongst them. The image of milky tea birds comes from autumn, but Booted is remarkably richly (and warm) coloured when fresh - as here, even though the OP images have awful colour artefacts. Attached is an adjusted image next to OP.

Anyway, it's a Booted as Grahame says.

B

Sykes's or Booted Warbler? Bangalore, Dec (1 Viewer)

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