Oriole plus Other Baringo, Kenya, May (1 Viewer)

[MacNara]

All in the general area of Tumbili Lodge on the shore of Lake Baringo.

We saw both Eastern and Western Black-headed well enough to be sure. But there is just this one photo of this bird. Is it African or Eurasian Golden, or an immature of one of the Black-headed?

And the other photo, I think I should be able to ID this, but however much I look, I have no idea. I think there are enough features visible - e.g the brown slender wings - for an ID for someone better than me.

Thanks for help.

 

[THE_FERN]

All in the general area of Tumbili Lodge on the shore of Lake Baringo.

We saw both Eastern and Western Black-headed well enough to be sure. But there is just this one photo of this bird. Is it African or Eurasian Golden, or an immature of one of the Black-headed?

And the other photo, I think I should be able to ID this, but however much I look, I have no idea. I think there are enough features visible - e.g the brown slender wings - for an ID for someone better than me.

Thanks for help.

View attachment 1455818View attachment 1455819

Best guess for the oriole is immature eurasian golden, but I think you need to see the wings to be sure. I think this because there's no hint of the dark loral line continuing beyond the eye, and the breast seems uniformly whitish without big golden flank patches (even though the ambient light is golden). I think we can rule out the black-headed species as there's no hint of capital sootiness.

Foxed by the second bird. Gives me a thrush vibe but none of those match.

 

[MacNara]

Best guess for the oriole is immature eurasian golden, but I think you need to see the wings to be sure. I think this because there's no hint of the dark loral line continuing beyond the eye, and the breast seems uniformly whitish without big golden flank patches (even though the ambient light is golden). I think we can rule out the black-headed species as there's no hint of capital sootiness.

Foxed by the second bird. Gives me a thrush vibe but none of those match.

Thanks Fern. For the second bird, I thought the long pointy wings in brown, the brown (I think) undertail and a possible brown patch on the shoulder (which might mean a brown back) could be pointers to an ID, even though I've flipped through the book and can't find anything that leaps out to me.

 

[THE_FERN]

Thanks Fern. For the second bird, I thought the long pointy wings in brown, the brown (I think) undertail and a possible brown patch on the shoulder (which might mean a brown back) could be pointers to an ID, even though I've flipped through the book and can't find anything that leaps out to me.

View attachment 1456033

It roughly matches the plumage pattern of a tchagra but the tail is too short. I couldn't make it match even if there are foreshortening effects in the photo. I also suspect the bill isn't dark.

 

[MacNara]

Last chance: I've been going through these Kenya photos again and have got IDs for most to my satisfaction, but that second bird above (only one photo) with the brown pointy wings must be identifiable, but I have no good candidate.

 

[Indobirder]

My first thought was Tchagra

 

[MacNara]

My first thought was Tchagra

I'm good for Tchagra, too, but the Fern thinks the tail is too short among other things. Is there any chance of a re-think Fern?

 

[Tib78]

Tchagras are rule out by the undertail pattern.
It’s one of the Grey sparrow. Presumably Northern grey headed.

The oriole is Eurasian indeed.

 

[THE_FERN]

Tchagras are rule out by the undertail pattern.
It’s one of the Grey sparrow. Presumably Northern grey headed.

The oriole is Eurasian indeed.

I looked at it again this morning and wondered about grey sparrow. Can't see enough of head to be sure and what I can see looks odd. It's the rufous on the wing which gives the sparrow impression. Would you have taken such a close up of a sparrow?

 

[MacNara]

I looked at it again this morning and wondered about grey sparrow. Can't see enough of head to be sure and what I can see looks odd. It's the rufous on the wing which gives the sparrow impression. Would you have taken such a close up of a sparrow?

Thanks all. I have just checked the details. We stayed overnight at Naivasha on the lake and I took lots of photos in the garden. Then we set out for Baringo. We stopped on the road an hour or two later because we saw some Fischer's Lovebirds. I took this one photo at that time. We have Japanese holidays, which means maximum ten or eleven days including travel from Japan. Very expensive on a per-day basis, but you only live once. So I shoot everything that moves in the hope that when I get back it will turn out to be interesting. So, yes, it's quite possible that I would have taken a close-up of the underside of a sparrow!

The only sparrow I definitely saw on that trip was Rufous Sparrow at Naivasha on the way back (a week later).

Although our ten trips to Africa, and other trips to other places, over the last fifteen years have been very expensive, in the world as it is we are delighted we did this. We thought of saving this money for longer trips when we were both retired (which will be next year), but considered the possiblity that we might have the money but not be healthy enough to travel (several couples we know have had one member drop dead shortly after or before retirement). So do it while you can! Back when we started in 2008 it never occurred to us that at retirement age we might be fine, but we wouldn't be able to travel freely because the rest of the world was sick. Which is what has happened!

 

[THE_FERN]

Well clutching at straws a bit...

The rufous coverts on grey headed are extensive and perhaps darker than we see here; think we'd expect to see more here. I think I see a hint of bordering white so perhaps female Kenya rufous

 

[MacNara]

Well clutching at straws a bit...

The rufous coverts on grey headed are extensive and perhaps darker than we see here; think we'd expect to see more here. I think I see a hint of bordering white so perhaps female Kenya rufous

Thanks Fern for this and other help on other threads. I really scrape the barrel as far as I can, but sometimes you just have to let things go, and I'm willing to let this go. Although I had only this one shot, I thought that the colouring and wing shape that can be seen would give a definite ID from someone better than me. But since that appears not to be the case, I'll let it go.

 

[Butty]

I thought that the colouring and wing shape that can be seen would give a definite ID from someone better than me.

I'd say that's what you got - given that you probably don't identify many/any grey-headed-sparrow-types to 'species' anyway.

It’s one of the Grey sparrow. Presumably Northern grey headed.

 

[Tib78]

I am indeed confident this is a member of the griseus complex. Kenya rufous sparrow wouldn’t show such a pale throat and the flight feathers edging is too dark rufous while it should be straw-coloured in this species.
Indeed the specific ID of the member of this complex may be quite complicated at times but fairly easy in other instances: a pale billed « grey » sparrow in Tanzania is a Swahili, except in the south-east where Southern grey-headed occurs and swahili doesn’t.
In this instance there is really not much reason to believe it’s not a Northern grey-headed -which is in most places the easier species of the complex to get as it is the village dwelling species of the group- as the other contender would be Parrot-billed. The latter species typically shows duskier grey underparts, including the throat.

 

[MacNara]

Thank you Tib.