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Please help a novice on what these birds are. Both in Kruger during August.

Hi Scottm, warm welcome to the forum!

The first one is an Orange-breasted Bush-shrike and the second one is a Longbilled Crombec, easy to recognize because it has no tail.

Lovely pics of busy little birds that's tough to photograph!

Hi Scottm,

Agree with JenB Nice pics by the way!

Thanks Jen. I have many other photos that need ID's, so I hope I will not be seen to be too stupid. Clearly I need a new set of books

Post them, Scott. These guys love a challenge!

Nobody will think you are stupid, most of us are still new at the game.

I am trying to ID a number of birds from photos taken over the years. Below are two that I need someone to confirm ID's. Simple challenge for those in the know.




Taken in Kruger, August. Looks like Greenbacked Bleating Warbler. Any advances on this?





What about this one, Also August, Also Kruger

Both birds about 10-12 cm excl tail

Any help or comments welcome... and many more pics to follow

Scott

Yup, first one is Green-backed Camaroptera (formerly known as bleating warbler). The beautiful second one seems related, but the yellow breast and red eye-ring make it a Yellow-breasted Apalis.

What about these two, both taken in Kruger, Sunset Dam, December. Poor Pics, but too far to get better ones. (anybody got a 400mm f2.4 to donate? )

Both look like juv Cuckoo's of some sort, but I may be completely off the mark.









Scott

Hi Scott.... was your first pic taken at Sunset Dam by any chance???!

Looks like Diederik Cuckoo and a Juvenile Fiscal Shrike to me......

Rusty, the first was definitely taken at Sunset Dam, the other I believe was also in that area. If my memory serves me correctly, the second bird was bigger than a fiscal shrike....... but the I did not get a full view of it

Haha I think I can even tell which tree your cuckoo was in.....Seen it perched on the same branch 3 consecutive summers in Kruger.....Must come back to irritate the same weaver colony yearly.

Still voting Fiscal Shrike , the lack of eyebrow, and very fine barring rules out the possibility of Juv. Red Backed Shrike.....The Bill and overall appearance point towards the shrike family.

Taken in the Karoo, December, and probably about the size of a starling, if my memory serves me correctly..... Any ideas?

Cape Robin-Chat

Thanks Rusty..... We get Cape Robins in our garden here in JHB, and this was VERY different. The colours were not vibriant at all, and I believe the bird to be a bit bigger than what I recognise in our garden as a Cape Robin (Robin-chat). Also, those here in JHB are secretive birds, never seeming to venture too far from the undergrowth, whereas this one was on the top of the tree, in the open veld. Having said that, there seem to be nothing else in the book I have that comes close to the similarity of the colours, so I guess I'll just have to concede. I'll try to capture the local Cape Robin-chat (on SLR , not in a net ) and post the two side-by-side later for visual comparison

Thanks Arks & Rusty Justy for the correct id