Pipit from Qatar April 2011

[mjgrunwell]

Two photos of a pipit taken in early April in Qatar by a former Qatar birder. Looks interesting for Richards, any comments?

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[khalifa]

They are two. the left seems to be red-throated pipit note the reddish throat and short tail. the right could be Richard's pipit

[mjgrunwell]

I have concerns that there may be two different birds shown. I also have concerns about provenance and date claimed (1 April)
Not sure we should discuss further.
Thanks

[gavinfarnell]

I'm the photographer of these two pipits. Having left Qatar some 9 months ago I recently looked at some uneditted photos from my very last trip out in the desert.

They were both taken on 1st April within a minute of one another hence my error in suggesting they might be the same bird. On closer inspection, clearly not.

So in summary it's the profile shot of the bird showing its buff under parts i'm interested in IDing.

Hope this clears up the matter.

For me IMHO its either blythes, richards or buff bellied. Would appreciate views of others more familiar with these three species from the region.

[Nick]

Hi Gavin / all

The bird on the right looks quite good for Blyth's (with Richard's being the only other candidate, as far as I can see). Although it might be tempting to say that structurally it is a better fit for Blyth's, this is notoriously difficult to judge from a single image (particularly as the bird appears to be resting in a rather hunched position, rather than moving about). The apparently heavy crown streaking, buffish-washed underparts and 'necklace' of light streaks are all quite good for Blyth's too, but unfortunately the median covert pattern cannot be seen / judged nearly well enough from this image, and the bird is rather bedraggled, making it hard to evaluate the features properly. For these reasons I'm a bit hesitant about making a firm call. What you really needed was a pic like this (http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/7464795_8XVG8#533636766_bCkPo) ;)

The bird on the left looks all wrong for Richard's, Blyth's or Buff-bellied. Personally I'd go with Tree Pipit (very faint lower flank streaking is better for this species than Red-throated, as is the rather uniformly-streaked mantle).

Cheers
Nick

[MarkS]

I'd suggest Blyth's too - in addition to Nick's comments, the rather short-looking, pointy bill and weak malar also support Blyth's rather than Richard's. Nick rightly highlights the bird's bedraggled appearance and the need for caution, but at the same time, it just doesn't feel right for Richard's.

Buff-bellied would have a very large, dark patch where the lower part of the malar meets the breast.