Swifts from southern France - yesterday (1 Viewer)

[Thibaud]

Hi everybody

I was watching a flock of swifts near the coast south of Béziers (France, Hérault) yesterday and a couple of birds seemed paler than the rest, so I tried to get some photos.
The first photo is the one I'm most hopeful about being a good Pallid candidate (what with the pale fringes on the body, blunt-tipped wings, fairly large pale throat patch).
Then there are three crappy shots showing the upper side of a second bird, with some contrast between the dark back and the pale base to the wings. I remember reading about that in a thread a few days ago, but I wanted to know how reliable a character that is?
And finally the last bird, for comparison, I imagine is a regular Common swift

As always, many thanks for the help.

T

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Wow Thibaud,
I never thought, I would write "everything is there! when it comes to this difficult pair, where I am normally learn from others (despite having seen many Pallids before), but your first picture changed this.
Thanks for sharing!
The second bird is another Pallid Swift imo. Please note:

• the right pale clear brown colouration
• extensive whiite on the head, so extensive and throat and front/supercilium, that its out of variation for a Common Swift, I see in Germany
• the right drawn-out/long-tailed, but broad-hipped jizz, good for Pallid. Pleae compare to the Common in your last picture.

Last picture is more difficult to me, partially because of angle of viewing and that "single picture effects" masks/makes assesment difficult in this ID-challenge-pait, more so than in many other difficult pairs. But bird looks better for Common for me,(overall colouration, restricted pale throat patch), and when you identified it as a Common in the field, than it was one

 

[Butty]

1-4. Pallid swift
5. Common swift
Great 👍🏻

 

[Thibaud]

Terrific, many thanks to you two!

Now, I'll have to pay more attention to the ones flying above the house, see if I can add Pallid to the yard list as well...