GAME: name that bird!

[Geoff]

Mountain Chat?

[kittykat23uk]

Not quite @@Geoff.

[inyathi]

It looks a little too dark to me but is it a familiar chat Cercomela familiaris? If it’s not then I’m going to have to say I'm stumped on this one.

[kittykat23uk]

Yes! It is a Familiar chat! Over to you.

[inyathi]

Thanks, have a go at this one.

 

[Geoff]

No idea really. Umm, Yellow-throated woodland warbler?

[inyathi]

@@Geoff Darn it you have no idea and still get a hole in one.

 

Indeed it is a Yellow-throated woodland warbler Phylloscopus ruficappillus photographed at Seldomseen in the Bvumba Mts. in Zimbabwe.

 

I was hoping that this one might prove a little more difficult as there are 66 different species of Phylloscopus leaf warblers primarily in Eurasia but there are at least 10 in Africa. There are also quite a few other Asian warblers that are quite similar so I thought without any clues as to the location this could prove quite hard. I guess this bird is a lot more yellow than the other African species so if you’re looking at African birds it’s not too hard to identify, the Asian species are pretty hard to tell apart.

 

Over to you

Edited September 13, 2015 by inyathi

[Geoff]

I was going to post the first image but then decided it was too darn hard. So you get bonus points and bragging rights if you can name that bird.

Both species are not Aussie birds. All you have to do is get one of them right which should make it relatively easy.

 

 

 

[mvecht]

@@Geoff

 

Is the second one an Arnot`s Chat?

[inyathi]

I think that the first bird is a maroon or red shining parrot Prosopeia tabuensis probably on the island of Vanua Levu or maybe neighbouring Taveuni in Fiji.

 

I agree with @@mvecht on the second one it looks to me like a female Arnott’s or white-headed black chat Myrmecocichla arnotti.

[Geoff]

@@mvecht Correct, well done. Your turn.

 

Bravo, bragging rights to @@inyathi , I thought that would be a tough one. An incidental shot whilst walking through a rainforest on Tavenui in July.

[Soukous]

I don't feel too bad about being away for the past 2 weeks as I would not have been able to ID any of the species posted.

[Geoff]

Soukous Don't rub it in!! The flight I was booked on would have just arrived in Jo'burg

[mvecht]

I would never had guessed the Parrot

Lets try with an aquatic species.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Black-throated diver?

[inyathi]

@@mvecht I wouldn’t have been at all sure which species of diver this is as they’re not that easy to tell apart in winter but I found this useful video

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=346&v=29f3i-XXDuU

 

So I also think it’s a black-throated diver Gavia arctica this is a northern Palearctic species that occurs right across Eurasia and does occasionally occur in Western Alaska. In North America divers are known as loons, this species is the Arctic loon, it has been proposed by the International Ornithological Committee that the name should be changed to black-throated loon, but I'm not sure if this new name will catch on this side of 'The Pond'.

 

@@Geoff After you guessed my last one slightly quicker than I’d hoped I thought I should get my own back.

 

The funny thing is that saying you thought your first bird would be too darn hard is largely what gave it away to me, I thought as it’s really not a bad photo it shouldn’t be that difficult to identify so what makes him think it’s going to be? I wonder if it’s not so much the bird but the location that makes it difficult, this made me think that perhaps your parrot comes from somewhere slightly obscure and off the beaten track and the first thought that popped into my head was the Pacific Islands specifically Fiji. After all Fiji is pretty much in your backyard so it struck me that there was a very good chance that you’ve been there. I confess that wasn’t the only reason Fiji came to mind I have in fact also been there albeit some years ago and I spent a few days on Taveuni I wasn’t sure but checking my bird list I did see some of these parrots and I do have a couple of not very good scanned slide photos of some captive birds. You did pick a tough one you were just unlucky that I've also been to Fiji.

 

For those who haven’t been to Fiji then it would have been very difficult, the obvious assumption would have been to look at Central or South America because there are about 150 different species of parrots in the Neotropics. If you’ve never been to that part of the world and don’t have any of the books then working out that it wasn’t from there would have taken a long time. You did say that it was not from Australia which would have helped as you have the next most parrots at around 53, the only one that actually does look a little like this although it’s much brighter red is the king parrot but if you don’t have an Aussie book you wouldn’t know that. After Australia according to Wikipedia there are 46 species in New Guinea and that is somewhere I’ve never been so I would likely struggle with any parrots from there unless they’re shared with Australia. I’m also not familiar with some of the species that may occur in Indonesia and the Philippines but mainland Asia really only has parakeets which are all very similar and tiny hanging parrots. Africa does have of course also have parrots but none that look anything like this Fijian beauty.

[mvecht]

@@kittykat23uk

 

correct it is a black -throated diver (Gavia arctica) aka black-throated loon or Arctic loon.

Please bring on the next challenge.

@@inyathi thanks for posting the video. As you mention they can be difficult to tell apart.

Edited September 16, 2015 by mvecht

[Geoff]

@@inyathi Yes, my presumption was that few of the UK members would have been to Fiji and that many would think it was a South American parrot. Likewise, any bird from the northern hemisphere is going to be difficult for me to identify. With your previous post, I immediately thought it's a warbler and then just took an educated guess on the species.

 

This is a good, fun thread, I'm learning a lot.

[kittykat23uk]

Okay folks, try this one:

2015-09-16_09-52-42 by Jo Dale, on Flickr

[Geoff]

Eek. Rufous-bellied woodpecker?

[kittykat23uk]

That was easy! Over to you!

[Soukous]

Bloody hell guys - these birds are being posted and identified before most of us even get to see them.

[Geoff]

@@Soukous , I hope you're online....

 

 

[Soukous]

@@Soukous , I hope you're online....

 

[Soukous]

I'm thinking some kind of plover @@Geoff,

perhaps a Little Ringed Plover