Here are a couple more (races too)
A short one - the Sibechat - which was accepted without fuss. I reckon this is the minimum I'd put down for a BBRC bird assuming I had seen it for more than a few seconds
and a long one - the eastern Grasshopper Warbler, which was alas not deemed acceptable as a first for Britain (though had he tail measurement been taken and fitted we would have allegedly have had accepted as a first.
I tend not to do the rarity committee's job and tell them why it wasn't a different species as bluntly as that, though I do emphasise critical separation points and how certain I am that I have seen them.
Edit: the pdf for the Sibechat is too big to post..... I'll jpeg it another day
Unusual Grasshopper Warbler at Red Rocks - Oct 12th 1994
The weather on the morning of Oct 12th was just what we wanted for Red Rocks. Clear skies an easterly air stream and very poor visibility (Welsh and Lancashire coast out of view). Unlike east coast sites which rely on cloud cover and even drizzle to bring migrants down, we require the kind of conditions which get birds moving. The reduced visibility means that once they reach the NW point of the Wirral, they hang round long enough for us to see them. Early on a few Redwings, a couple of Blackcaps and a "pleeping" Chiffchaff had appeared in the area.
At about 09.00 JET was checking a mist-net set between a phragmites reed-bed and a large Alder bush. There was a Wren prominently in the top pocket and what appeared at first glance (through the mist) to be another in the pocket below. Identifying birds in mist-nets is always problematic and the lack of a prominent supercillium and grey rather than russet brown colour suggested that it might be Chiffchaff. On reaching the bird JET was shocked to see a graduated tail, streaked under-tail coverts streaked flanks and a gorget. Bearing in mind the size of the bird, JET let out a loud and involuntary shout of "LANCIE" which brought EW to the end of the net in a remarkably short time.
With uncontrollably shaking hands JET turned the bird over, expecting to see tobacco brown upperparts and neatly edged dark centred tertials. Neither of these were not present. The bird was taken back to the ringing station where it was processed by MGT. Despite extended and valiant efforts to turn it into a Lanceolated Warbler, the bird showed under tail coverts and tertials of a Grasshopper Warbler whilst the wing formula details were just within the overlap range. Feeling distinctly deflated, having ruled out Lanceolated Warbler we released the bird without completing a full biometric analysis or taking photographs. In our defence, the bird was not in the best of condition, the camera was at home, and there were dozens of Long-tailed Tits throwing themselves into nets! On its release it sat on MGT's hand for several seconds then took off and spiralled up into the sky. We watched it circling for about 30 seconds before losing it behind, or in, a stand of Poplars. At the time we assumed that we were dealing with an unusually plumaged runt Grasshopper Warbler. It was only after reading the Harvey and Riddiford Identification of Lanceolated Warbler paper in BB that the" possibility of an Eastern race Grasshopper Warbler emerged and we cursed ourselves for not making the trip back for the camera!
Description:
Size/Structure: A tiny Locustella, much smaller than any other Grasshopper Warbler seen or handled previously by any of the observers. It had the "cute" look of a Lanceolated Warbler rather than the more robust look of a normal Grasshopper Warbler. In the hand it felt like a Phylloscopus Warbler, or at most a Wren, whereas Grasshopper Warblers usually feel substantial in the hand - more like a medium sized Sylvia\ The weight was 12.Og with a fat score (tracheal pit) of 0/5 and a pectoral muscle score of 0/5. The tail length appeared to be quite long in proportion te the body and particularly the wings. This was particularly apparent as the bird circled overhead! Unfortunately we did not measure its length. The bird was generally long and thin rather than short and dumpy, though the wings appeared more rounded than usual for a Grasshopper Warbler. The maximum flattened chord wing length just reached 61mm on the left wing. The second primary was 3mm shorter than the third, and fell between the 3rd and 4th primaries (closer to the 4th) The first primary was equal to the primary coverts and the notch on the second primary fell between the 7th and 8th primaries (8mm). The second and third primaries were emarginated. The legs and feet were strong for the size of the bird - comparable to Wren. The bill was in proportion with the rest of the bird.
Plumage: The ground colour of the upperparts was different to any Grasshopper seen previously. It was a strange grey-olive brown, very close to the colour of grey Meadow Pipits and the plate 17 Lanceolated Warbler in the Harvey/Riddiford paper. All the upperpart body feathers had darker brown centres. These were clearest on the smaller feathers of the crown The centres fell well short of the tips of the back, mantle and rump feathers. The centres of these feathers were also quite diffuse. Again the total effect was very close to the above-mentioned plate. The wing coverts also had diffuse darker centres. However, the tertials were particularly bland, being dull grey brown in the centre, modulating to pale grey brown on the edges. The outer webs had wider pale edges than the inner, though it was not really possible to decide where the centre ended and the edge started. The tail and flight feathers were dull grey-olive brown. The underparts, including the under wing coverts were dirty grey-brown, though the upper breast and particularly throat had an ochrous suffusion. There was a gorget of spots, similar to but more strongly marked than a juvenile Sedge Warbler. These were round, not streaks, and set off the clean throat. The flanks feathers, particularly the rear flank had fairly prominent brown streaks which were about 2mm wide and followed the shaft. These were the most clearly visible streaks on the bird. All the under tail coverts were dirty grey-brown. They had darker black/brown centres which reached the base of the feathers and narrowed off rapidly to c.imm either side of the shaft by 1/3 of the length. These reached the tip.
The pattern was repeated on all the under tail coverts, though the longer feathers had marginally more diffuse markings. There was a poorly marked darker eyestripe, which did not reach the bill or the rear or the ear coverts. There was also a very slight supercilium - a gap between the eyestripe and the streaked/spotted crown rather than a positive feature. The ear coverts were slightly blotchy dirty olive-grey-brown, similar to the tone of the rest of the upperparts and contrasting with the slightly yellowish throat.
Soft parts. The detail of the bill were not noted at the time. MGT and JET both recall an unexceptional darkish horn colour. The legs were pale flesh coloured (paler still on the soles of the feet) with distinctive white claws. Eye was dark and beady (mouse-like).
The first thing we did when we got home was to read all the literature we had on Locustella warblers, and seeing the above-mentioned plate in BB led to several brief crises of confidence. This was exacerbated by a phone call from Richard Millington who had found out that we had caught a small Locustella. RM informed us that the recent Filey Lanceolated Warbler had shown poorly marked tertials and yellowish underparts in the field. In the hand however it was apparently showed classic Lancie features. The limited descriptions we can find on L.n.straminea appear to more closely fit our bird. Later that morning a Richard's Pipit dropped in briefly (one of an unprecedented 11 reported in the NW that week). We also recorded two Yellow-browed Warblers, three tristis-type and two abientinus-yypc Chiffchaffs in the following two days, suggesting that we were receiving birds from the east.
We are obviously not sure how safely L.n.straminea can be separated from nominate Grasshopper Warbler, or the degree to which the races intergrade. However, we are certain that we have never seen anything like this bird before and that we want the record to be officially documented if at all possible. After all, the likelihood of a second minuscule Locustella warbler with a gorget and flank streaks being recorded at a west coast mainland site in mid-October are low enough to be negligible!
Reference:
Riddiford, N and P.V.Harvey, 1992, British Birds, 85(2), 62-78
