yellow wagtail , ssp ? (1 Viewer)

[Michał Jaro]

Hi, what do you think about this yw - imo certainly not ssp flava because of blackish ear coverts, dark head, thin supercillium - so dombrowskii? Or ssp from the far west (white throat?)? Additionally I send a picture of a "white" female - the birds were together

 

[Jean FRANCOIS]

Flava x thunbergi i think.
Jean

 

[lupokatja]

For me the male is within the normal variation of flava. The other bird looks like it might be a Water Pipit.

Lützen

 

[Michał Jaro]

First of all, thank you for your hints! I don't think it was flava - the ear covers and cheek are far too dark Imo. For flava / thunbergi hybrid - white throat doesn't fit (well, unless it's an illusion from these weak photos ..?)

 

[lupokatja]

First of all, thank you for your hints! I don't think it was flava - the ear covers and cheek are far too dark Imo. For flava / thunbergi hybrid - white throat doesn't fit (well, unless it's an illusion from these weak photos ..?)

There is quite a bit of variation in flava, at least that is what I would call it. Birds with darkish ear coverts and cheeks are not really that unusual:

https://oudeversie.waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/188583360
https://oudeversie.waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/188636017
https://oudeversie.waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/188653945
https://oudeversie.waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/188702630

Lützen

 

[Michał Jaro]

Yes I agree - I also observed various flava - but here we have black or almost black color, it cannot be a shadow effect - next to it we have bright colors - whitish throat, eyebrow. And this whiteness of the throat - also unusual. I add a bigger zoom