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Brook’s
Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus
subvirdis
coyright Sumit Sen; 2004 |
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delhibird
is pleased to present a series
of articles on how to identify,
what is perhaps, the most difficult
group of birds-the Warblers.
Written by Martin Kelsey, they
will be illustrated with photographs
and drawings where available.
Last month we started looking
at the Phylloscopus
warblers, focusing on some of
the plainer members of the clan.
This month the selection includes
Phylloscopus warblers
with distinct head patterns
and wing bars as well. All of
the species covered this month
are true to the other name we
give Phylloscopus warblers:
leaf warblers. We will find
these species in trees, actively
gleaning foliage for tiny arthropods.
A good place to look for leaf
warblers in the early morning
is where the sun is catching
the foliage, presumably because
the invertebrates are becoming
more active in the sunlight
and become easier for the warblers
to see. Some warblers will particularly
associate with other species
in energetic loose flocks, moving
through woodland at different
levels. Encountering such flocks
is always exciting for the birder
because you never really know
what species you may come across.
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need to be on the ball
because views may be tantalizingly brief
and as you search the leaves again for
another glimpse, it is too easy to get
distracted by other species moving through!
As always with warblers, if you concentrate
on establishing what the head pattern
is, look for wing bars (and make special
note of the colour of the wing bars),
and check bill and leg colours, you will
be piecing together the clues that will
help you identify the warbler concerned.
With the species covered this month, checking,
if you can, the rump colour will also
be important. Because these species are
generally to be found in trees in leaf,
often high in the canopy, calls will not
only help in identification, but also
locating the bird in the first place.
Make it a practice to always try to see
a bird that is calling, so that you get
to recognise the common species by call.
As you build up a memory of the common
calls, it will become easier to pick-up
calls that are different, which will help
you find other species. This is also a
good practice for getting re-acquainted
to the calls of migratory species: after
a gap of many months without hearing the
call, even the most experienced birder
may need a bit of a refresher to his or
her ear tuned-in to the sometimes subtle
differences in vocalisation between species.
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