Reed warbler, Guangdong, China (1 Viewer)

[hibari]

Hi there,
Photos were taken in Guangzhou this month, same bird. In my opinion (not sure though), bill shape and head pattern fit Manchurian Reed Warbler, but primary projection seems too long and tail length seems too short.
By the way, do primaries and tail feathers look quite new? Does this suggest anything about age or moult pattern?
Sorry for the image quality, I don't have raw photos since they were taken by others.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Paul Leader]

Looks like Oriental Reed Warbler to me.

 

[hibari]

Looks like Oriental Reed Warbler to me.

Thanks Paul.
That fix the PP problem, I guess? I wonder are there other indications for ORW, and how common it is for ORW to show this kind of head pattern. Another problem is that, according to the photographer, the bird looked rather small. Assuming it's a misjudgment and the bird is indeed an ORW, is it a juvenile?

 

[johnallcock]

I think the head pattern fits better for Oriental than Manchurian - note that the supercilium is not well marked and fades away behind the eye, unlike the obvious white supercilium of Manchurian. I guess your question is that the sides of the crown look a little dark, but this is not as obvious as on Manchurian (I wonder if it is due to shading and slightly raised crown feathers).

Among other features, note: relatively large, deep-based bill with curved culmen, grey legs (pinkish-brown on Manchurian), contrast between brown rump and darker tail, pale tips to tail feathers.

It's not a juvenile, which look very worn and sandy at this time of year (and most should have already moulted from juvenile plumage). ORW is quite variable in size and I find that they can also sometimes seem smaller than expected if they are skulking low in vegetation and larger when they perch in the open.

 

[hibari]

I think the head pattern fits better for Oriental than Manchurian - note that the supercilium is not well marked and fades away behind the eye, unlike the obvious white supercilium of Manchurian. I guess your question is that the sides of the crown look a little dark, but this is not as obvious as on Manchurian (I wonder if it is due to shading and slightly raised crown feathers).

Among other features, note: relatively large, deep-based bill with curved culmen, grey legs (pinkish-brown on Manchurian), contrast between brown rump and darker tail, pale tips to tail feathers.

It's not a juvenile, which look very worn and sandy at this time of year (and most should have already moulted from juvenile plumage). ORW is quite variable in size and I find that they can also sometimes seem smaller than expected if they are skulking low in vegetation and larger when they perch in the open.

Thank you John, that makes a lot of sense.

I also noticed P2 looks pretty close to the wingtip when zooming in on pic 2. Maybe that fits ORW better too.

Thank you all for your help!