Subject: Warbler ID please [Print This Page] Author: bittern Time: 1/02/2017 21:59 Subject: Warbler ID please
Because my camera was pathetically slow, I could only take one picture of this individual warbler at Shek Kong this afternoon.
I cannot decide between Yellow-browed and Arctic: I find it hard to judge whether the bird has a second white bar on its wing, which the shadows or the grainy pixels may have obscured, or whether that bar is faint enough to classify this as an Arctic.
It's a Yellow-browed Warbler. The larger wingbar (on the greater coverts) is much too broad for an Arctic Warbler. You can also see that the bases of the secondaries are dark, creating a 'shadow' behind this wingbar - this is a very useful feature to identify Yellow-browed Warbler. Two-barred Warbler is another similar species, but should have a slightly narrower wingbar without the darker 'shadow'.
Also, the time of year is useful - Yellow-browed Warbler is a very common winter visitor to Hong Kong, but Arctic Warbler is a migrant and is extremely rare in winter (two birds this winter are the first January records ever I think). Author: bittern Time: 2/02/2017 14:27
Thanks ajohn!
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