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a possible Oriental Reedwarbler

To: <>
Subject: a possible Oriental Reedwarbler
From: "Danny Rogers" <>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 18:16:44 +1100
 
Hi,
 
The "slightly paler olive-brown lower back and rump" that Chris Hassell and I saw on an Oriental Reed Warbler mist-netted in the Crab Creek mangroves was a subtle marking, and we only noted it because we had the bird in the hand and did a full plumage description. It certainly didn't make the bird look pale-bummed in the field (we watched it fly away on release). The lower back and rump of Australian Reed Warblers is also subtly paler than the mantle. In short I don't think this is something that helps in ID.
 
I've also got reservations about using mouth colour in identification (cf Anthea Felming's posting). In Australian Reed Warblers, adults have vivid orange-pink mouths, quite often visible when the bird is singing. The same applies to Oriental Reed Warbler. Australian Reed Warblers have yellow to yellowish orange mouths for the first few months of their life, and they initially also have black spots on the tongue. I suspect the same thing applies to Oriental Reed Warblers (and other Arocephalus) too, and wouldn't trust it as an ID feature.
 
In the field, the two features that I'd consider really objective for picking out Oriental Reed Warblers are voice and throat-streaking. The song is distinctive - obviously a reed warrbler of sorts (If you are familiar with the Australian call) but it sounds harsh and crackly, without the sweet whistly phrases than make our Australian Reed Warblers so pleasant to listen too. Most Oriental Reed Warblers, especially males, have distinct dark streaks on the lower throat; all Australian Reed Warblers lack this. Some Oriental Reed Warblers (especially females) lack throat streaking, and if you do see throat streaking in an unidentified reed warbler, you have to see it well enough to be confident that you aren't looking at dirt, or some strange shadow effect. Still, throat streaking is the most objective plumage character I know of for identifying this pair. There are more subtle characters but it would take a very experienced and confident observer to make use of them; I certainly don't claim to be able to identify all reed warblers I see in the field. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, a good place to start is Shirihai, H. (1995. "Identification and taxonomy of large Acrocephalus warblers." Dutch Birding 17: 229-239.)
 
Cheers, Danny Rogers
 
 
 
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