Israbirding.com Forum - Interesting Ficedula at JBO, 29/4/07

Interesting Ficedula at JBO, 29/4/07 (Main Area)

posted by yoavpe, Messilat Tsion, Judean hills, 15.06.2007, 16:13

Hi Guys,

In the early morning of April 29th 2007 I trapped a 2nd-cal Ficedula flycatcher at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. At the time the nets were full of birds so I was in a great rush. As I extracted the bird from the net, I saw that there was 1-2 mm of pink on the base of the lower mandible (rest of the bill was black), and that the lower, longest uppertail coverts were black while the rest of the uppertail coverts were in the same colour as the back. I remembered incorrectly that these features are wrong for Taiga Flycatcher F. albicilla (of course this are incorrect - this fits albicilla very well; also the Svensson guide, the only reference I had with me at the JBO was very brief and general regarding these two features). I was slightly disappointed and identified it as Red-breasted Flycatcher F. parva, a rare spring migrant itself. I took no additional biometrics apart for the standard wing and tail measurements (69 mm and 50 mm respectively). The bird was not seen or heard before being trapped or after release.

After checking the available articles, especially Cederroth et al. (1999) Birding World 12:11 and Jännes (1996) Alula 3, I believe that this is the first Taiga Flycatcher for Israel. I have seen many in E Asia, but I have no experience with the species in the WP. Therefore I'd appreciate any feedback on the ID of this bird, especially from international viewers who have experience with this species, or if anyone has more info on the variation showed by snd-cal female parva regarding the color of the lower mandible and uppertail coverts.

Note the following features:

Black longest uppertail coverts, same colour or even slightly darker than rectrices (this image by Ron Haran)

[image]

In profile, bill looks totally dark (the pinkish base to lower mandible was visible in the hand only when looking from below)

[image]

Whitish throat and belly, contrasting to grey breast band; brownish cap and ear coverts, with greyer lores, creating a slight 'capped' appearence; also the bill looks rather heavy

[image]

Yoav Perlman

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Complete thread:

Interesting Ficedula at JBO, 29/4/07 - yoavpe, 15.06.2007, 16:13 (Main Area)
- Interesting Ficedula at JBO, 29/4/07 - Itai Shanni, 17.06.2007, 12:16
- Lars Svenssons' opinion - yoavpe, 18.06.2007, 09:01
  - Interesting albicilla images - yoavpe, 06.08.2007, 23:49
  - Lars Svensson confirms - yoavpe, 11.08.2007, 11:49
- Paul Leaders' opinion - yoavpe, 21.06.2007, 17:12
- Two more images - yoavpe, 01.07.2007, 00:20