Yes I know what these are, one immature and one adult Night Heron on the river this lunchtime.
But I'm not sure about these..........most of these are from Tuesday this week. Lots of flycatchers passing through, but which species.........?
Are they Asian Brown or Sooty Flycatchers? They do look pretty dark (which would suggest Sooty) but I have no idea to be honest.
This is obviously a young one, I think Asian Brown.
This one looks pretty pale, is it just an Asian Brown?
God knows. Here are some more shots.
This one was today (Friday).
And this is from Monday.
If anyone can help me out here with this Flycatcher ID mental block I have I'd be grateful...........
Nice pics as usual!
ReplyDeleteIMO I think they are all Asian Brown Flycatcher since typical Dark-sided(Sooty) Flycatcher should have smaller bill and a little bit plumpier look ;)
Thanks for the comment, maybe they are all just Asian Browns...................
ReplyDeleteSCE, I also think they are all Asian Brown. The coloration is very uniform throughout and the underparts are also very washed out. IN fact, the field marks with Brown are generally quite indistinct as compared with Sooty, although the eye-ring on Brown is very prominent while on Sooty is quite indistinct. With Sooty, the belly and underbelly are white and the flanks and breast have distinct dark diffuse streaking which does stand out. I have a shot of one on my Flickr site if you want to check it out (in the Birds of Japan set). Also, the bill on Sooty is shorter than that of Brown and the the sub-moustachial stripe on Sooty is more prominent than on Brown (sometimes very indistinct on latter so that it appears not have any).
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps a bit. I know that the two species can be very confusing, particularly at this time of year when juveniles are on passage.
Great shots though!!!
Mark
ps: why did we sell Alonso?
Thanks for the detailed response Mark , I'll try and find a genuine Sooty to photograph........
ReplyDeleteYup, dunno why they sold Alonso although I can understand why he wanted to go (Rafa trying to sell him last season and all that).
Some crocked midfielder from Roma is not a good replacement...
I too think they are all Asian Brown Flycatchers. Sooty is very long winged and has a longer primary projection and a very short bill compared to ABF according to P. Rasmussen's book.
ReplyDeletehttp://orientalbirdimages.org/index.php
ReplyDelete....has a decent collection of pics.