Can I have some help with these guys please

[Aimee Cokayne]

Don't know what 009 and 0124 are. My IDs for the others are as follows can someone please confirm:
0047 Chiffchaff, 0044 Common Snipe, 0067 Isabelline Shrike - Thanks

[GregoryAskew]

Hi Aimee,
I'm still relatively new to UAE birds, but here are my two cents on (some) of your shots. No clue about bird 009. The snipe might be a pin-tailed. I believe the warbler ID is correct. Bird p124 might be a female or first-winter male Siberian Stonechat, and the shrike, I believe, is Daurian, formerly (?) known as Isabelline.
I am eager to see how I did!
Good birding,
Greg

[MarkS]

Female Pied Wheatear (grey-brown back), Common Snipe, Chiffchaff, Siberian Stonechat ?(Edit: can't make out the rump clearly, but looks unstreaked, but on a second look, I wonder if it's pale enough) & Turkestan Shrike (black mask runs right through to the bill).

[andrew]

Turkestan Shrike (black mask runs right through to the bill).

Is this feature always definitive of Turkestan?
There is barely any supercillium of note here and this seems more like Daurian.

[Aimee Cokayne]

Oh no there aren't even more shrikes (Turkestan) than I was already aware of :) I am confused enough! Just seen another type as well. I think I might make a collection and put them all up on the same post so we can compare and contrast! Thanks Greg, Mark & Andrew for help with this. Is a Siberian Stonechat a pretty good sighting? - I see it included in Greg's list.

[Sandman]

Rushed, as going out, but I believe the warm apricot wash of the shrikes underside makes it a Daurian Shrike, even with the black mask going all the way to the bill. Turkestan Shrikes should have a cleaner, colder white breast and belly. Oscar?

[andrew]

In the good old days they were all isabelline shrike - now just split into Daurian and Turkestan.
So now we all have to look at them much more carefully and get even more confused!
Siberian stonechat fairly common winter visitor - they will be departing soon now.

[Sandman]

Andrew; don't get us started on how common (or incredibly rare!) Siberian Stonechats are in winter :-))
Have you seen those European Stonechats with large white rumps? Getting a glance of their axillaries? (correct spelling Nick?).
Even more confusing than your average Isabelline Shrike!

Ever wonder why brownish birds are called Isabelline?
It has something to do with Lady Isabella and her undergarment. Aimee can explain (I told you the story, right?)

[Aimee Cokayne]

I try to forget that story Tommy - I am not easily grossed out but that one stays with me!

[Sandman]

;) I know

[MarkS]

Presumably more of a brownish wash to her undercarriage than I can detect on that shrike!...

...which (to my aging eyes) also has a rufous cap and a white (OK, not the most striking) super. I will concede that my statement regarding the mask was rather too simplistic.

[andrew]

Yes. The poor Lady Isabell who was imprisoned in the Tower.

[Nick]

The shrike looks closer to Daurian to me... though is it grey enough on the mantle to be a candidate for karelini? Over to Oscar ;-)

Can female-type European Stonechat ever show such a clean white throat? I know this is a work-in-progress but isn't this still considered a reasonably strong indication for Siberian?

[Oscar]

After the way he forgave me over the Blue Pitta incident, I am sure Mark won't mind me chipping in on the shrike as Daurian or, at least, far closer to that than Turkestan. The underside does look a bit pale and clean for Daurian, but this could easily be over-exposure. The bill base is pale, and the bird looks too grey-washed above for Turkestan. The mask does extend onto the lores but even there is slightly thinner than on the ear coverts. Some literature states that the latter feature is shown by all male Daurians (ie any adult Daurian lacking dark lores should be female) but I am sure this is not true: in fact it seems to me that Daurians with a rather solid dark mask (like this bird) are in a minority here (and some of the paler lored birds are definitely males: I was thinking about this last week, as I watched such a bird singing!)

Turning to the Stonechat, whilst the shot is slightly inconclusive on this angle, I think a female European at this stage of spring should have a much more sullied throat. You could also argue that the rather pale looking super-c before the eye and seemingly very pale, clean flanks also fit Siberian better too.

OSCAR

[MarkS]

I'm gonna have to get my head around the ID features of these buggers, as the fieldguides (including the new BOME) don't seem to have these fully nailed.

I can cope with being wrong (not exactly an infrequent event), but being gripped off over one of these guys and taking it without crying is somewhat harder: http://www.pbase.com/carljohansvensson/image/107991567/original

B@st@rd!