Another Kenya bird ID needed

[janzin]

We puzzled over these guys for a long time. My best guess is female or non-breeding Cardinal Queleas. I looked at all female Bishops and Widowbirds and nothing seems quite right. Nor do any of the Canaries. There was a small flock of these in the grass in the Mara Reserve.

 

Thoughts?

 

[janzin]

no one? @inyathi @Galana 

[Galago]

@janzin I've not seen Cardinal Queleas but they look similar to Red-billed Queleas outside of breeding plumage/ females but without the red bill, of course. The bill is the right shape for a quelea. But I'm away from my bird books at the mo and I'm guessing. @inyathi any thoughts? 

[Galana]

Thoughts indeed.

I see black legs, shortish tail and stubby bill so I don't think it is a Quelea.

I am leaning towards to White-bellied Canary with longer odds on Parasitic Weaver.

[inyathi]

To be honest when I first looked, I just thought, these non breeding birds are darn difficult I don't know, don't ask me, then of course, you did ask me, so I feel I should now offer a suggestion.

 

I agree that it's not likely a quelea because the legs appear dark, it's not I would say, either a white-bellied canary of the parasitic weaver also known as cuckoo finch, my guess might be something like a southern red bishop or maybe one of the other bishops or widows perhaps, I'm not sure exactly what the non-breeding males of the various possible species look like or how they compare with the females.

 

Have a look at some of the possibilities on the Tanzanian Birds and Butterflies website if you saw it in the Mara then it must also occur in Tanz, so you may find a photo there that helps

 

Otherwise you could also have a look at the African Bird Club Image Database

 

I'm afraid I'm not sure I can help more than that, but I've only looked at my Birds of AFrica South of the Sahara and a few photos, I might look at a few more books and see I can find a match. 

 

[janzin]

hmm you folks are correct, the Cardinal Quelea should have pink legs. These are certainly not pink. Thanks, I always forget to consider leg color!

 

It just seems to have more yellow than any of the bishops and its just not right for Canary. Unfortunately I only have one bird book that covers this area (The Terry Stevenson book.) Maybe I'll post it on Facebook and inquire of some of my birder friends in Africa. 

[wilddog]

Non-breeding Red Collared Widow Bird?

 

In the book I have the brow is yellow.......................

[janzin]

@wilddog thanks, it seems you may be right, a couple of tour guide friends over on FB have said Red-collared Widowbird. My book doesn't show much yellow, and shows a much darker bird  (and none of the photos I found on the web show this much yellow either--or the bi-colored bill.) But this seems like the best match and makes sense in terms of habitat and location.

 

 

[inyathi]

If it is a non-breeding male, I would go along with red-collared widowbird, as the red-shouldered/fan-tailed would have a red spot on the wing and the yellow-mantled a yellow spot, so to be either of those it could only be a female that would have no coloured spot, I think I'd plump for a male red-collared as the most likely.

 

[Tanzaniabirding]

Red-collared widowbird

[Soukous]

A fine show of collaboration.