Zim Girl's 6th Big Year 2023

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @TonyQ.

 

These next ones should all be ok, but after that I may be on dodgy ground with a few id's.

 

Terrible picture of this one but it was very far away and just wouldn't stay still.

201. KE88.  Red-faced Crombec

 

 

[Zim Girl]

202. KE89.  Pangani Longclaw

 

[Zim Girl]

203. KE90.  D'Arnaud's Barbet

Pleased with this one.  We had been chasing it around for a couple of days and finally got it on the last morning.

 

[Zim Girl]

204. KE91.  Grey Crowned-Crane

 

[Zim Girl]

205. KE92.  Water Thick-knee

 

[Zim Girl]

206. KE93.  Fischer's Sparrow-Lark

I am pretty sure this one is the female that matches the above male.

 

[Zim Girl]

207. KE94.  Yellow-billed Oxpecker

 

[Zim Girl]

208. KE95.  Fork-tailed Drongo

 

 

[Zim Girl]

209. KE96.  Rosy-throated Longclaw

 

 

[Zim Girl]

210. KE97.  Cardinal Woodpecker

Another awful picture, sorry.

 

 

[Zim Girl]

211. KE98.  Jackson's Widowbird

I think this one is right.  We had Jackson's widowbird noted down for this day, but these non-breeding plumage birds are a bit confusing.

 

 

[Zim Girl]

212. KE99.  Eastern Paradise-Whydah

 

[Zim Girl]

Now, if any of you fancies the challenge of a bit of homework for the weekend, these are a few of the ones I am struggling with.

I won't number any of them yet until I can get a proper id in case there are duplicates.  They were all taken in Amboseli.

 

 

These are both of the same bird and we have Flappet Lark noted down for this day.

 

 

 

Is this another Wire-tailed Swallow?  The face fits but it doesn't appear to have any wires.

 

Is this another Long-tailed Fiscal?  The bill doesn't look quite right.

 

I think this is another of these non-breeding plumage birds, but I struggled to find which one.

 

And this is another.  At least I think it is a different bird to the one above.  Don't know, started to lose the will to live.

 

Another lark?

 

Finally, for now, we have 2 different cisticolas.  Or possibly the same one, or even the same bird.  Just the word 'cisticola' makes my head melt!

We had Rattling and Winding written down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Congratulations on storming past 200!

[Galana]

On such a filthy afternoon taking a close look at your mystery birds has brought forth warmth.

Here I my best shot.

1. Grassland Pipit,

2. Shock/horror? It's a European BeeEater.

3. Common or Long-tailed. I am apt to suggest the former.

4. 1st is a Parrot-billed Sparrow, I think. 2nd is Northern Grey-headed.

5. This could well be a Tawny Pipit. Or Plain-backed. Not much else fits.

6. I think both are Winding. 2nd is juv (or an odd looking Zitter.)

 

Sits back to await contrary views which are welcome.

Still smiling at your non Wire-tailed BeeEater. Easy done.

[michael-ibk]

A difficult task Angie, and I think with some of the Pipit & co stuff it´s really impossible to ID them with certainty from a photo. That said, I agree with Fred with most everything, and most definitely about the Bee-Eater.

 

I´d also say that´s a Common and not a LT Fiscal.

Really not sure about the Sparrows, but to me the first one looks much more like a non-breeding/female/juv Quelea (and Cardinal is around in Amboseli). And for the second my vote goes to - House Sparrow (also regularly reported in Amboseli).

 

The Pipit is a bit weird but there´s not a single record of Tawny of Plain-Backed in Amboseli on ebird so I´d still suggest an African. The lack of markings on the back might jsut be the photo.

 

Tentatively agree about Winding Cisticola on the second, not sure about the first one (Pectoral-Patch?)

 

Sorry, very helpful, I know.

[xelas]

Kenya delivered some spectacular birds and photos. Congrats for passing by #200.

[Zim Girl]

Thank you  @Peter Connan and @xelas.

 

@Galana and @michael-ibk, thank you very much for taking the time to look at these for me.

 

So, wire-tailed swalllow vs european bee-eater.  Well that's any credibility that I may have had as a birder taken a massive nose dive, dear me!

I may not recover from the shame but onwards and upwards.

 

I have looked carefully at all your suggestions and am going with African Pipit for both pipits to be on the safe side.  I thought they were larks but as we have just discovered, my bird id skills are pants so what do I know .

By Common Fiscal I will assume you mean Northern.

I will go with Cardinal Quelea as I do think the bill matches exactly and the markings for non-breeding look very similar to googled images.  Also, the House Sparrow seems to fit a bit better than Northern Grey-headed.

I will just stick to Winding for the cisticola, again to be on the safe side and I think I have a rattling one from Kitich.

 

I will re-post and number so not to make all the above confusing.

[Zim Girl]

213. KE100.  African Pipit

[Zim Girl]

214. KE101.  European Bee-eater

 

[Zim Girl]

215. KE102.  Northern Fiscal

 

[Zim Girl]

216. KE103.  Cardinal Quelea

 

[Zim Girl]

KE104.  House Sparrow  (already in total count for UK)

 

[Zim Girl]

217. KE105.  Winding Cisticola

 

[Zim Girl]

Onto the last pictures from Amboseli.  We were watching a flock of birds flying back and forth from the trees to a patch of water.  In there, according to the guide, were cardinal weaver and eastern paradise-whydah, which have both already been posted.  I think I can see some Cut-throat finches.  Do you agree?

 

 

 

Finally, I have 3 birds from Kitich in the Mathews Range.

The first is really annoying me because it looks familiar but I have been struggling to pin it down.  Not a great picture but some very obvious features with the bright eye-ring and orange bill and legs.  The nearest I could get to is an African Bare-eyed Thrush.

 

This next one, the guides said it was a Rattling Cisticola.  They only have 3 types in the area and the other 2 are Tiny and Croaking, so I think this is good for Rattling.

 

A last one if anyone is feeling particularly ambitious. I am not holding out much hope so don't worry.