Gambia Bird ID help (2 Viewers)

[Mike Ball]

Hello. The following pictures were taken in the Gambia in Jan 2023. Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[Bewick]

The first picture gives me Black kite vibes

 

[Brian J Small]

Based on a very poor image I think the raptor may be Booted, but without any great confidence.

Woodpeckers are Cardinal (5229... - note small bill and light streaking) and Fine-spotted (5204... - note face pattern and fine spotting)

Brian

 

[Butty]

Based on a very poor image I think the raptor may be Booted, but without any great confidence.

Ditto, including the caveat.

 

[Mike Ball]

Thanks Brian, Butty. I have found another truly awful picture of the raptor that might nonetheless help.

 

[Butty]

Black kite. Tail.

 

[Mike Ball]

Thanks. How about this warbler? (Sorry, its the only image I have)

 

[Farnboro John]

Black kite. Tail.

The Gambia hosts both classic Black and Yellow-billed in winter. Is the black bill tip apparent in the first photo real or artefact?

John

 

[THE_FERN]

Black kite. Tail.

Surely tail is better for booted. No real sign of even a shallow fork to my eye. Certainly not what I'd ID as black kite in the field. And the earlier photo showing the head isn't classic kite jizz either for me

 

[Butty]

Surely tail is better for booted. No real sign of even a shallow fork to my eye.

Sharp corners and a flat/straight tail-end on a spread tail. Booted eagle doesn't show that and black kite does.

 

[Mike Ball]

My impression in the field was of an Eagle. But it was very distant, and I spent most of my time trying to get a photo before it was lost to view.

 

[THE_FERN]

Sharp corners and a flat/straight tail-end on a spread tail. Booted eagle doesn't show that and black kite does.

The pic looks v like this to me:

ML36732921 Booted Eagle Macaulay Library

 

[Butty]

Tail-shape does - though tail isn't spread as widely as the OP's bird, and angle of the photo may not be helping. I notice that (old) Svensson shows a sharp-cornered tail-shape for booted eagle, which I hadn't (previously) thought was typical. OP's bird appears not to have booted eagle's dark mid-wing bar. Other opinions welcomed...

 

[Brian J Small]

Black Kite is very scarce in Gambia; Yellow-billed Kite is very common and has a deeper fork to tail. I don't see either here.

Brian

 

[tconzemi]

Booted imho

 

[Mike Ball]

No chance its a Tawny Eagle?

Tail and wing shape looks wrong, but I thought I'd put it out there just in case.

 

[THE_FERN]

No chance its a Tawny Eagle?

Tail and wing shape looks wrong, but I thought I'd put it out there just in case.

nahh. Tiny beak...

 

[sicklebill]

Looks good for Booted Eagle to me, pale body fits nicely

 

[Mike Ball]

OK, thanks everyone. Booted Eagle it is.

 

[Mike Ball]

Anyone have any input on the Warbler? It was photographed in a forest at a fresh water pool, near Gunjur, South West Gambia.

Its probably too difficult from just the one photograph