Same old dilemma , Willow Warbler or Common Chiffchaff ? (1 Viewer)

[creaturesnapper]

I photographed this Warbler at Warburg nature reserve , Buckinghamshire , in a very dark setting yesterday. No song to help with ID , the legs are dark like Chiffchaff but the coloration and longer primary projection ,pointing to Willow W . Any thoughts or ID most welcome.

 

[Richard Dale]

It's a chiffchaff - amongst other supporting evidence it has a visible emargination on the 6th primary.

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,
I agree with Richard:
excellent, detailed close up!
I agree with you, regarding colouration its a hard bird for me, too:
a WW would describe this bird as olive, dark and dirty, while a Chiffchaff would describe it as bright, green and yellowish= within variation for both (and yes, I hesitate to write the picture seems the slightest touch cold/greenish biased=reflection of foliage? think so. No offence you know)
Same for the head-pattern. It seems, that its somewhat clouded by wear and moult. And within variation for both.

But you can count the emerginations thanks to excellent picture quality: its a Chiffchaff.

 

[creaturesnapper]

Thank you both , the reflection of the greenery definitely added to the confusion , but Chiffchaff was also my first thought .

 

[Butty]

longer primary projection

It's short.