Serengeti birds for ID, late Oct (1 Viewer)

[Marc Suller]

Hello everyone

Please ID these birds :

Photo 1 : Small bird that I thought may be a singing bush lark but no sign of streaking on chest.

Photo 2 : Imm booted eagle ???

Photo 3 : Not sure, been through book twice.

Cheers, Marc

 

[Marc Suller]

Actually, I think bird 1 may be a cisticola, perhaps croaking

 

[FormerMemberfor15years]

Hi there,

I'd say

1 - Croaking Cisticola
2 - Lesser Spotted Eagle
3 - female sunbird, unidentifiable IMO. Feeling of female Variable Sunbird.

 

[Larry Lade]

I do not think # 3 is a sunbird, perhaps a shrike of some sort!

 

[KGS]

#2 not Lesser Spotted. Check nostril shape. Tawny Eagle perhaps?
#3 definitely a Sunbird

 

[FormerMemberfor15years]

#2 not Lesser Spotted. Check nostril shape. Tawny Eagle perhaps?

I used the gape length, here very short. I don't know the nostril stuff for ID eagle, can you tell us more KGS please?

 

[KGS]

Nostril stuff useful at times: Spotted and Lesser Spotted have round nostril. Steppe and Tawny have oval.

 

[FormerMemberfor15years]

Thanks KGS, I just checked photos on the web, it is amazingly efficient. Therefore, as our bird is defo not a Steppe, Tawny seems indeed the only option.

 

[Larry Lade]

Can you give me some pointers as to why # 3 is a sunbird? I just can not seem to find the characteristics pointing to that family of birds.

 

[Marc Suller]

There is little curvature of the bill, maybe ruling out a few of the sunbirds. The copper sunbird has a straighter bill so would this be a contender. I must admit, sunbird did not occur to me when trying to identify it.

Marc

 

[itchytwitcher]

#3 how about Green-backed Eremomela?

Itchy

 

[FormerMemberfor15years]

Difficult to explain how to understand the bill pointing towards us... but look how is it here.
http://www.tanzaniabirds.net/Africa...t-backed_female_UdzMtn_LHansen_2007_07_11.jpg

compare to this
http://www.tanzaniabirds.net/Africa...let-backed_male_UdzMtn_LHansen_2007_07_11.jpg

Now, about the species... I'm not sure but I see something like that.
http://www.oiseaux.net/photos/valery.schollaert/variable.sunbird.1.html

Cheers