Four birds from Kuhistoni Badakhshan, Tajikistan (1 Viewer)

[PhilSteiner]

Rather than making separate threads, I'll combine these four into one post.
Bird 1, some kind of lark, was singing from low perches in dry gravelly patches in the floodplain by Murghob.

Bird 2 seems like a rosefinch, but I'm not sure if it's a Common or something else.

Bird 3, another lark, was gathering food in really arid areas as we approached Karakul, the large high-altitude lake in NE Tajikistan. The black neck band seems Horned Larky (and HOLAs are the most common bird everywhere in far eastern Tajikistan), but the facial pattern is wrong...do juveniles gather food like this? Do they get their neck band before the rest of their adult plumage comes in? The other thing that came to mind was Calandra, but it doesn't seem chunky enough and the bill doesn't seem heavy enough.

Bird 4 is a weird young gull. There were Pallas's and Brown-headed around...that oversized bill makes me think maybe Pallas's, but I'm not finding anything that looks like a great match for young Pallas's. The bill alone makes me discount Brown-headed or Slender-billed. What I can see of its back makes me think it might be too light to be from the Lesser Black-backed complex. Which I guess just leaves Pallas's in the end?

 

[Butty]

4. That's a great black-headed/Pallas's head. Sorted.

 

[KenM]

Was wondering if no.3. is of a Temminck’s persuasion?

Cheers

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

1. Hume's Short-toed Lark
2. fem Great Rosefinch
3. Horned Lark (transitional)

Grahame

 

[PhilSteiner]

1. Hume's Short-toed Lark

I'm wondering if this is actually a Greater Short-toed Lark, based on dark marks at the sides of its neck. Here are a couple more photos and a recording of its song and calls.

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

I'm wondering if this is actually a Greater Short-toed Lark, based on dark marks at the sides of its neck. Here are a couple more photos and a recording of its song and calls.

No, it's a Hume's Phil. The bill is slender, pointed and yellow basally. Head pattern is right; crown is rather plain, there is a dark eyestripe contrasting with a long narrow white supercilium. Apparent dark area may be a result to displaced/missing feathering.

Grahame

 

[PhilSteiner]

No, it's a Hume's Phil. The bill is slender, pointed and yellow basally. Head pattern is right; crown is rather plain, there is a dark eyestripe contrasting with a long narrow white supercilium. Call is fine. Apparent dark area is likely due to displaced feathering.

Grahame

Thanks for the explanation, very helpful

 

[Grahame Walbridge]

Thanks for the explanation, very helpful

Phil, to expand of my last comment which was posted in haste due to the imminent arrival of my lift.

Hume's often exhibits dark breast patches which are variable in extent so, my reasoning was erroneous since the dark marks are clearly present of both sides ML205765401 Hume's Lark Macaulay Library like your bird, this individual has the 2 largest tertials (T2 & T3) broken/damaged giving the false impression of a long pp which might falsely suggest GSTL, undamaged, the tertials would cloak the primaries.

The black 'patch' in this example is created by lifted feathering revealing feather bases below https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/593646231 which is not the case with your bird.

Grahame