sparse winter visitor

Greenish Warbler

A small, green, slim, arboreal warbler with brown legs. Dull greenish above and whitish below. Prominent long, sweeping supercilia. Usually only one wing bar shows. Sexes alike. Feeds on invertebrates, mainly in the canopy but also lower down. Active and restless. Frequently fly-catches. Usually in scattered parties or mixed hunting groups. Nests low down.

Taiga Flycatcher

Generally creamy or greyish-white below, but older males have orange throat patch. Male also has greyer head and neck,  white eye-rings, small bill. White basal patches on black tail. Eastern race F. p. abicilla has black bill and rump, older males have large rounded grey throat patches.

Red-headed Bunting

Male: rufous-chestnut crown, throat, breast; olive-yellow back, streaked blackish; unmarked yellow rump; whitish wing-bars; yellow neck-sides, underbody below breast. Female: pale-brown above, streaked; yellowish rump. Highly gregarious winter visitor; huge numbers, frequently along with Black-headed; cause considerable damage to crops.

Long-billed Pipit

Largest pipit. Greyish-brown with rufous edges to wings, dark lores. Northern races are greyest and plainest with barely streaked, whitish-buff or rufous-buff underparts. Southern races more heavily streaked above and more lightly streaked on breast, with rufous-buff underparts. Powerful thrush-like bill, short legs and upright stance. Bounding flight; pumps and fans tail upwards.

Tawny Pipit

A plain, medium-sized sandy pipit with dark lores. Adult is plain sandy-brown above with streaking only on crown and breast sides. Juvenile streaked above and spotted on breast and easily confused with other streaked pipits. Long pale supercilia and indistinct moustache. Obvious white-edged, black median coverts. Outer tail feathers buff. Hind claws short. Horizontal wagtail-like carriage.

Yellow Wagtail

subspecies- thunbergi, bema, melanogrisea

Very variable, mainly greenish and yellow wagtail; many races and hybrids occur; only wagtail with olive green or brownish mantle, back, rump  (brownishbacked Forest has unmistakable wing, breast pattern); relatively shorter tail; yellow underparts, vent (Citrine has white vent); two wing bars; breeding males have from greenish yellow to dark grey crowns, ear coverts; non-breeding and females brownish, with straight, pale supercilium (Citrine has curved); whitish or yellowwashed underparts; very gregarious in winter; less undulating wagtail flight.

Eurasian Skylark

A large, streaked brown lark with a short crest. Similar to Oriental but obviously larger with clear, white outer tail feathers and trailing edge to wings. No rusty colouring in wings. Looks much whiter below with finer breast and flank streaking. Rather long wings and tail. Sexes similar.

Lesser Whitethroat

Greyish with dark cheek patches; grey head, brown mantle and wings; short brown tail with white outer tail feathers; throat white, breast and belly greyer; flanks brownish. Recently split Small or Desert Lesser Whitethroat is smaller and paler. Often in loose groups. Horizontal carriage. Confident direct flight. Rather shy.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Male: dull-brown above; white in tail conspicuous in night or when tail is flicked; rufous-orange chin, throat; whitish below. Female: white throat; palebuff breast. Solitary or in scattered pairs in shaded areas; may descend to ground, but prefers low and middle branches; flicks wings and lifts tail; launches short aerial sallies; hunts till late in evening; calls often.

Dark-throated Thrush

Characterised by even grey upperparts and wings with reddish-orange on sides of tail, which very noticeable in flight--from below the undertail can look completely orange. Adult male has red supercilium, throat and breast, grey upperparts, and whitish underparts. Female is similar to male, but has a white or buffish throat and blackstreaked malar stripe, and red of breast is a gorget of spotting. First-winter has white tips to greater coverts and pale-fringed tertials. First-winter male resembles adult female. First-winter female is less heavily marked, and has finely streaked breast and flanks; usually shows rufous wash to supercilium and throat and/or breast.

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