Sunday, July 1, 2012

Turkish delight 4 - Chestnut-shouldered Petronia near Birecik

One more target species for Birecik area is Chestnut-shouldered Petronia AKA Yellow-throated Sparrow. Both names give this dull bird too much credit - it's almost as dull as an acro, but hey, it's a WP tick for me.
We found good numbers in the endless pistachio plantations between Birecik and Halfeti. We saw many families and lots of birds flying around. Some were very close to Birecik, right by the turnoff from the river road to Halfeti.

Here a male perched on a pistachio tree - the fruit should ripen in autumn.


We found this juvenile posing nicely on a treetop, and then its father arrived to feed it with a mulberry. Rony and myself got some good action shots, but I wish I was properly equipped for video photography - this scene is better displayed in video. Here the male arrives with the berry:


 And attempts to feed the youngster:


For some reason it didn't work, and the berry fell down. Luckily it got wedged on a lower branch, and papa stretched to pick it up:


Here we try again:


This time mission impossible, to stick a berry in juv's bill, was a great success. Papa wipes the juice off the bill on a branch: 
 




Yes, it has both yellow throat and chestnut lesser coverts. It calls more like a sparrow than a petronia, but elongated shape is like a petronia. 


Goodbye!

Forgot to mention previously the walk we did up the wadi from the Ibis center. Quite many warblers around - menetries's and upcher's. We tried very hard for See-see Partridge, and eventually saw two, albeit rather briefly, on the hills above the wadi (Lifer #4).

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