ID and status of White-browed Robin-Chat in Kenya - specifically Nairobi and Sagana (1 Viewer)

[SteveClark]

Here's a Rûppell's from our garden in Arusha Tanzania (1600m a.s.l.). It has been pointed out to me that Rûppell's has the white supercilium flecked with black but in White-browed it is cleaner white. The best difference of course is the song. Rûppell's song is much richer and has excellent mimicry mixed in. I think your bird is a White-browed but did you hear the calls?

 

[Valéry Schollaert]

Here's a Rûppell's from our garden in Arusha Tanzania (1600m a.s.l.). It has been pointed out to me that Rûppell's has the white supercilium flecked with black but in White-browed it is cleaner white. The best difference of course is the song. Rûppell's song is much richer and has excellent mimicry mixed in. I think your bird is a White-browed but did you hear the calls?

I'm not sure you noticed OP bird is not an adult, so chances that it would sing is very poor, and the eye-brow details can be affected. I've never found details to separate them at this age. By range, it must be a Rüppell.

 

[sbradfield]

Thanks all. We didn't hear this one sing. The Ruppells at Mt Kenya was in full flow with plenty of mimicry.

 

[Brian J Small]

An interesting debate, but I would be in the Rüppell's camp.

It is a long time since I saw these so am happy to be proven wrong, but I would agree with Valery that it is a young bird - note small pale spots at the tips of some (brown-hued) greater coverts. This may explain the fact that the cental rectrices are not black, though I still see them here as darker than White-browed.

As to subtleties of supercilium - I realise that there is variation - I feel that typically the black on the lores is more extensive on Rüppell's making the fore-supercilium look 'higher' on the face, not dipping down toward the nostril as it typically does on White-browed - it seems to create a straight line from above the eye to the top of the bill, but dips down on White-browed.

MacNara's observations of spercilium shape on Ethiopian Rüppell's is very interesting and one I will look at later, both on photos and skins. Could you let me know the precise location, please.

Brian

 

[sbradfield]

Thanks Brian. This will go down as a Ruppell's on my list.

 

[MacNara]

MacNara's observations of spercilium shape on Ethiopian Rüppell's is very interesting and one I will look at later, both on photos and skins. Could you let me know the precise location, please.

The pictures I posted at #3 were taken in Bale. On checking, I see that they were taken over two hours apart, and therefore not in the same location exactly, so they should be different individuals.

Update: to be precise, one was taken in the lodge garden in the town of Goba, and the other was taken in a small reserve near there with Nyala and Menelik's Bushbuck, run by the park service. So not up on the plateau.

Here is another bird from Gondar showing the same supercilium shape. These were all the Robin-chats that we saw in Ethiopia.

 

[MacNara]

MacNara's observations of spercilium shape on Ethiopian Rüppell's is very interesting and one I will look at later, both on photos and skins. Could you let me know the precise location, please.

Hello, Brian.

I was reminded of this as there was another White-browed Robin-chat in a query today.

Kenya #5 Masai Mara

Please help with these all taken in Masai Mara, Kenya thank you for the help Debbie

www.birdforum.net

I posted the locations earlier. I wonder if you have had a chance to look at this, and what are your conclusions. You must also have a lot of contacts in the region. I wonder if any have any comment on the supercilium shape (e.g. is it only Ethiopia, or did I just by chance come across a couple of birds with this feature)?

In any case, if you do check this at some future time, I would be interested to hear what you find, even if nothing.

I have to say that, having read more since this thread started, I still find the arguments that some have made for Rüppel's based on location a little odd: it seems to me that both Nairobi NP and Sagana are more appropriate habitats for White-browed, at least as the books (and Birds of the World) say. Neither seems to be noticeably a highland forest habitat.

Birds of East Africa:

White-browed: Most widespread Robin-chat in the region, common in many habitats from sea-level to 2,200m but avoids forest interior and desert-like country. White-browed prefers lower altitudes and more open habitats than Rüppel's...

Rüppel's: Much more of a highland forest bird than White-browed...