Bird identification (1 Viewer)

[Parastooh]

Hi! Can you please help me identify this bird? I recorded it in 06/01/2021 in a village around Tehran(Iran), located in the south, an area with a dry climate.

 

[HH75]

Hi Parastooh,
Something from the Lesser Whitethroat complex, but I'm not sure from these images which taxon, nor do I know what the most likely form would be in that area without checking the literature. It looks a bit different from an average curruca, though.
Regards,
Harry

 

[MJB]

Hi Parastooh,
Something from the Lesser Whitethroat complex, but I'm not sure from these images which taxon, nor do I know what the most likely form would be in that area without checking the literature. It looks a bit different from an average curruca, though.
Regards,
Harry

According to Olsson et al 2013, breeding curruca occurs in an arc from Azerbaijan that includes Tehran, breeding althaea is found in NW and SE Iran & breeding minula in E Iran. However, in the non-breeding period, halimodendri from Kazakhstan has wintered in SE Iran, curruca is only a passage migrant, blythi winters in C and S Iran, while minula winters in SE Iran; margelanica may have wintered occasionally in Iran in the 19th century (Khaleghizadeh et al 2017 Birds of Iran). The odds are that the bird in question is blythi, informally known as 'Taiga Whitethroat', but that's far from certain.

 

[Lisa W]

Hi, I see this is your first post, just wanted to say welcome to the forum. Please include the location in the thread title as per forum rules. Thanks.

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

See Votier et al for breeding ranges of the Curruca complex https://www.researchgate.net/public...oat_complex_Sylvia_curruca_Passeriformes_Aves note caucaisica (subsumed by curruca) reaches NW Iran and minula has a more restricted range than previously thought, being confined to W China.

Contra Khaleghizadeh et al, Shirihai & Svensson (2018 Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds) gives blythi main wintering range S Asia to western S Asia. There is need for more sampling from W and S Asian wintering grounds.

Regarding the OP, both curruca and althaea can be safely excluded. A call might help but a sample would be better!

Grahame

 

[VIRIDISGONE]

Sampling Eh! Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me that implies encouragement to go out and kill birds. I don't think that is the advice to give a first time poster!

 

[RafaelMatias]

Sampling Eh! Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me that implies encouragement to go out and kill birds. I don't think that is the advice to give a first time poster!

Obviously a sample of bird poo, which contains workable DNA, you don't need to kill a bird for that!

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

No, not obviously a poo sample Rafael, that's impractical, but rather a feather sample obtained for mtDNA analysis. If you had read the Votier paper I linked above you should have understood that is was I meant-see under methodology. It's the method most commonly used to identify LWT's to taxon in the UK. It's not unusual for birds to drop the occasional contour feather(s) (enough for sampling purposes) when handled for ringing purposes. Poo samples are used but are more difficult to obtain for obvious reasons especially when the bird is a warbler.

Grahame

 

[Parastooh]

Hi Parastooh,
Something from the Lesser Whitethroat complex, but I'm not sure from these images which taxon, nor do I know what the most likely form would be in that area without checking the literature. It looks a bit different from an average curruca, though.
Regards,
Harry

Thanks Harry,
Actually at this time of year lesser whitethroats must have migrated to southern warmer areas such as India!

 

[Parastooh]

Hi, I see this is your first post, just wanted to say welcome to the forum. Please include the location in the thread title as per forum rules. Thanks.

Hi!
Thank you...sure. Of course it is mentioned in the content of the post.

 

[Parastooh]

See Votier et al for breeding ranges of the Curruca complex https://www.researchgate.net/public...oat_complex_Sylvia_curruca_Passeriformes_Aves note caucaisica (subsumed by curruca) reaches NW Iran and minula has a more restricted range than previously thought, being confined to W China.

Contra Khaleghizadeh et al, Shirihai & Svensson (2018 Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds) gives blythi main wintering range S Asia to western S Asia. There is need for more sampling from W and S Asian wintering grounds.

Regarding the OP, both curruca and althaea can be safely excluded. A call might help but a sample would be better!

Grahame

Thank you.

 

[Parastooh]

According to Olsson et al 2013, breeding curruca occurs in an arc from Azerbaijan that includes Tehran, breeding althaea is found in NW and SE Iran & breeding minula in E Iran. However, in the non-breeding period, halimodendri from Kazakhstan has wintered in SE Iran, curruca is only a passage migrant, blythi winters in C and S Iran, while minula winters in SE Iran; margelanica may have wintered occasionally in Iran in the 19th century (Khaleghizadeh et al 2017 Birds of Iran). The odds are that the bird in question is blythi, informally known as 'Taiga Whitethroat', but that's far from certain.

Thanks a lot.