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Warblers ID, Dalat, Vietnam (1 Viewer)

lbaia

Well-known member
Hello,

Some warblers found in Bidoup NP in pine tree forests.
All photos from different birds, although found in a range of around 2km.

Thanks for your help,
Luis
 

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I'd agree with Hume's for 1, 3 and 4 at a best guess, but 2 isn't Eastern crowned. I'm drawn to say that this looks more like Davidson's leaf warbler, which used to be known as white-tailed leaf warbler. But Phylloscopus warblers are tricky at the best of times!!!
 
I should be more carefully before posting. Sorry! I wasn't even aware of White-tailed Leaf Warbler...
 
The Dalat area has Blyth's, Kloss's and Ashy-throated Leaf Warblers, with Yellow-browed numerous in winter. Hume's doesn't occur and Eastern Crowned has uncertain status. I think Greenish might occur. So #2 must be Kloss's.

I'm not convinced that #4 is a Yellow-browed. For one thing, it appears to have a crown-stripe. The dark eyestripe flares behind the eye and it apparently lacks a second wingbar, the contrasting dark coverts and pale-edged tertials of YBW. More importantly, the undertail pattern is wrong for YBW, which has a dark undertail and lacks a white tip(see #3)- this bird has a greyish undertail with vertical white border and white tip, as in Blyth's and Claudia's.

https://ayuwat.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/thanee031.jpg

Add to that the fact that the bird is perching on a fairly thick branch rather than a twig, and I would say it's Blyth's.
 
The Dalat area has Blyth's, Kloss's and Ashy-throated Leaf Warblers, with Yellow-browed numerous in winter. Hume's doesn't occur and Eastern Crowned has uncertain status. I think Greenish might occur. So #2 must be Kloss's.

I'm not convinced that #4 is a Yellow-browed. For one thing, it appears to have a crown-stripe. The dark eyestripe flares behind the eye and it apparently lacks a second wingbar, the contrasting dark coverts and pale-edged tertials of YBW. More importantly, the undertail pattern is wrong for YBW, which has a dark undertail and lacks a white tip(see #3)- this bird has a greyish undertail with vertical white border and white tip, as in Blyth's and Claudia's.

https://ayuwat.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/thanee031.jpg

Add to that the fact that the bird is perching on a fairly thick branch rather than a twig, and I would say it's Blyth's.

Although I know where you are coming from regarding some of your points about four, except the last bit ;-) I think its misleading.
The undertail would better suit a Kloss's type I think and I initially thought thats what it was, however, to me it appears structurally wrong. YBW undertails can also be deceiving and look similarly white - http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=71648&Bird_ID=1837&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=
The light is harsh which doesn't help, but the bill is weak and dark tipped on the lower mandible, like a YBW. The flaring super and eyestripe also fit, as does a slight coronal if actually there. Your right on the lack of dark centred coverts or the what appears to be a lack of a dark base to the secondaries but I'd also give some bleaching factor there to both the light and wear. I'm not convinced the tertial edges would be obvious at this angle

I could be wrong and certainly erring on the side of caution, but for me. #4 doesn't look like a Blyth's.
 
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Undertails

See what you think of the following undertail photos, all taken in DaLat within the last 24h. My ID is based on what was singing/calling at the time, and nothing else. (In the case of the Blyth's, I'm not absolutely sure I photographed the singing bird, though there weren't any Kloss's singing at the time).
 

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See what you think of the following undertail photos, all taken in DaLat within the last 24h. My ID is based on what was singing/calling at the time, and nothing else. (In the case of the Blyth's, I'm not absolutely sure I photographed the singing bird, though there weren't any Kloss's singing at the time).

I think the Yellow-browed is misleading. Structurally looks to be what it is but I wouldn't have I'ded it on undertail alone

Your Kloss's is nice, compare - https://ayuwat.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/img_92652.jpg

Blyth's good too.
 
Although I know where you are coming from regarding some of your points about four, except the last bit ;-) I think its misleading.
The undertail would better suit a Kloss's type I think and I initially thought thats what it was, however, to me it appears structurally wrong. YBW undertails can also be deceiving and look similarly white - http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=71648&Bird_ID=1837&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=
The light is harsh which doesn't help, but the bill is weak and dark tipped on the lower mandible, like a YBW. The flaring super and eyestripe also fit, as does a slight coronal if actually there. Your right on the lack of dark centred coverts or the what appears to be a lack of a dark base to the secondaries but I'd also give some bleaching factor there to both the light and wear. I'm not convinced the tertial edges would be obvious at this angle

I could be wrong and certainly erring on the side of caution, but for me. #4 doesn't look like a Blyth's.

Thanks, Mark, for your detailed reply. I'm still troubled by this bird. I agree with you about the angle being unhelpful for viewing the tertials, and that the jizz is not quite right for Blyth's - something about the proportions that I can't put my finger on - but I still think the undertail pattern is strange. I'm sure there's a thick white tip to it, which isn't right for YBW or Kloss's. I also wonder if that bill is really as spindly as it looks - the upper mandible is overlit. You're right about its perch not being significant - it's not a thick branch. It's just that the Blyth's in the Dalat area (ticehursti)seem to behave quite like Claudia's, displaying that Nuthatch-like behaviour, feeding upside-down on thick branches at times.
 
I understand Andy, and Phylloscs in Asia are far from easy but there are a couple of obvious features visible that should rule out the expected Blyth's.

The ear coverts are mottled, Blyth's are rather clean, unlike the mottling of YBW for example, see Ayuwat images here, go forward through them (note also the yellowish undertail coverts bit like ECW) - http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_Image_ID=73188&Bird_ID=1805&Bird_Family_ID=&Location=
and compare with these mottled YBW's - http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=1837&Bird_Image_ID=129121
 
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