ML208012991
Contributor
Date
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- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
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- Playback
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Observation details
Plus two small acro possibly this species (seen just in flight or with naked eye); in habitat. Notes about the identification: in the field, Manchurian reed warbler was notably more warmly colored than black-browed reed warbler, including peachy-orange tinge on flanks; the color differences is more pronounced than suggested by field guides for adults in spring (e.g., Kennerley and Pearson 2010, Brazil 2009), and even the pictures that we obtained (see below) do not make justice to the true color. Also distinguished from black-browed reed warbler by its different song, more varied and less repetitive, sometimes evocative of a lark (check recordings below), and subtle but noticeable features mentioned in the literature (e.g., Kennerley and Pearson 2010) such as stronger bill, bulging supercilium in front of the eye, visible at some angles, and somewhat longer tail with narrow rectrices. In addition, I possibly identified a new feature not mentioned in the literature: when a Manchurian reed warbler is excited, the crown feathers tend to be ruffled making the dark lateral crown stripe, that is usually - but not always - less distinct than in black-browed reed warbler, almost disappear, creating the impression of an overall dark crown (see some of the pictures below). In my experience, black-browed reed warbler does not get its crown feathers ruffled like that, even when singing, giving black-browed reed warbler a decidedly flat-headed appearance; this feature can be seen even at large distances. Finally, in Manchurian reed warbler, the central crown tends to be browner, less grey, with more speckles, and to be overall less contrasting with the dark lateral crown stripe as compared to black-browed reed warbler; however, this criterion seems variable as some black-browed reed warbler are browner, not so contrasted, and are speckled too.
Technical information
- Recorder
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 29.19 MB