Quail? Charente/France, 17/08/2023 (1 Viewer)

[Bewick]

Thanks for any help.

Edit- First two pics are brightened- third is the cropped original.

 

[Richard Prior]

Looks more like a Woodlark to me. Still snapping first, looking at the behaviour, way of moving, size etc afterwards B?

 

[Bewick]

Looks more like a Woodlark to me. Still snapping first, looking at the behaviour, way of moving, size etc afterwards B?

With that strange length of the neck, darker feather on bottom of the bird? Here's another image- much worse- does not seem show the same back pattern as a wood lark.

 

[tconzemi]

Loks Quail to me, face markings match Quail as well as Woodlark, bill hardly visible but looks massive. stance good for Quail

 

[Richard Prior]

Hmmm, maybe I jumped in too soon ,- ah Tom just beat me too it!

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Looks more like a Woodlark to me. Still snapping first, looking at the behaviour, way of moving, size etc afterwards B?

I agree with a lark species, posture looks fine for an alert bird. Quail would also show markings on the throat, and would lack the dark marking coming down from the eye.

 

[Richard Prior]

I think I’ll stick to counting the vultures from the terrace here!

 

[Bewick]

I agree with a lark species, posture looks fine for an alert bird. Quail would also show markings on the throat, and would lack the dark marking coming down from the eye.

I see what you mean- possibly the bird in this photo then. I've changed my mind agree with lark sp.

Edit- also feel as if facial markings fit well for woodlark.

 

[tconzemi]

I think I’ll stick to counting the vultures from the terrace here!

I will join you, bloody LBJ

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,

what an interesting thread. Thanks!

And seeing the bird flying, I see the appearant long and all darkish tertials now.

For the species: can a Crested Lark or a Skylark be excluded? Do you have more pictures? I think its one of these and no Woodlark (ear-coverts seems to pale and more?)

 

[Bewick]

Hello,

what an interesting thread. Thanks!

And seeing the bird flying, I see the appearant long and all darkish tertials now.

For the species: can a Crested Lark or a Skylark be excluded? Do you have more pictures? I think its one of these and no Woodlark (ear-coverts seems to pale and more?)

Sadly none, do not believe its a crested but could be very likely a skylark- behaviour was strange for one though. Unsure if the bird in flight is the same as the one on the ground though facial markings off the grounded, in my opinion, seems better for woodlark.

The reason why I suspected quail is due to a run in with a group of seven birds that shot up from a ditch, calling with a repeated ting and making a similar sound to flying partridges but were much smaller. Sadly, the group did not return after flying into corn field. I am almost certain that those birds were Quail.

 

[Richard Prior]

Sadly none, do not believe its a crested but could be very likely a skylark- behaviour was strange for one though. Unsure if the bird in flight is the same as the one on the ground though facial markings off the grounded, in my opinion, seems better for woodlark.

The reason why I suspected quail is due to a run in with a group of seven birds that shot up from a ditch, calling with a repeated ting and making a similar sound to flying partridges but were much smaller. Sadly, the group did not return after flying into corn field. I am almost certain that those birds were Quail.

A group of 7 birds exploding from a ditch won’t have been Quail I fear, sounds typical Partridge sp. although I see you feel they were too small.
PS. I’d been birding c30 years before I actually SAW a Quail (like most birders I had heard plenty!) and in the 30 years since I’ve never seen more than one at a time, except tied to a Lebanese bird killer’s belt ).

 

[Bewick]

A group of 7 birds exploding from a ditch won’t have been Quail I fear, sounds typical Partridge sp. although I see you feel they were too small.
PS. I’d been birding c30 years before I actually SAW a Quail (like most birders I had heard plenty!) and in the 30 years since I’ve never seen more than one at a time, except tied to a Lebanese bird killer’s belt ).

Most definitely not partridge far too small- birds weren't from the ditch but were close by feeding on the corner of a corn field. Birds flew of immediately and dove into the deeper areas of the corn. Birds were also brown with short tails.

Edit- I was almost close enough to grab one by the time they decided to fly off.

 

[Butty]

Salutary lessons here - primarily...

• Where the aim is to identify (rather than just photograph) birds, spend more time watching them than photographing them.
• Birds commonly adopt all sorts of non-field-guide postures.
• Where low photo-quality reduces a feature to mush, it should be interpreted with extreme caution or preferably not at all. Over-eager over-interpretations are, sadly, commonplace in this forum.

 

[Bewick]

Salutary lessons here - primarily...

• Where the aim is to identify (rather than just photograph) birds, spend more time watching them than photographing them.
• Birds commonly adopt all sorts of non-field-guide postures.
• Where low photo-quality reduces a feature to mush, it should be interpreted with extreme caution or preferably not at all. Over-eager over-interpretations are, sadly, commonplace in this forum.

I do when I have the chance but a bird quickly darting off does not give you much chance to view it. Taking photos first allows for me to go over later just in case the bird does not allow for great views. I do agree that I was overeager, should off looked at more possibilities before posting it.

 

[Butty]

Taking photos first allows for me to go over later just in case the bird does not allow for great views.

I have to say that I feel that approach is misguided and will not serve you well for learning ID. But each to their own 👍🏻

 

[Bewick]

I have to say that I feel that approach is misguided and will not serve you well for learning ID. But each to their own 👍🏻

I personally do not agree, do not really understand what a flash gives you in terms of 'learning ID'. Also a camera is a great alternative for a scope sometimes, plus cameras have viewfinders... we don't take pictures blindly, though some of my photos might seem to point to that. Learning that black winged kites seem to be extremely confident hoverers or seeing a linnet bathe in dust is not only observable through binoculars.

 

[kuzeycem]

Sadly none, do not believe its a crested but could be very likely a skylark- behaviour was strange for one though. Unsure if the bird in flight is the same as the one on the ground though facial markings off the grounded, in my opinion, seems better for woodlark.

The reason why I suspected quail is due to a run in with a group of seven birds that shot up from a ditch, calling with a repeated ting and making a similar sound to flying partridges but were much smaller. Sadly, the group did not return after flying into corn field. I am almost certain that those birds were Quail.

Sounds like Corn Buntings?

 

[Bewick]

Sounds like Corn Buntings?

We do have a lot of corn buntings in the area however I’m confident that these birds were not the right shape for corn buntings- I think I’ll just have to visit the area more often in a future trip.

 

[David_]

Haven’t seen a lot of quails but they have a distinct shape when flying. Still remember the first time I saw one. I immediately knew it was a quail (confirmed when it called shortly after landing in a field).

My guess is if they were quails you would be 100% sure.