Bird identification

[Hammer54]

But you certainly know how to photograph an Avocet in flight!

[HanDiiMaNz]

Rock pipits and female black birds look quite similar, wouldn't you agree?

[DanDare]

Looks like I may have been mistaken about the fiirst pipit I saw. I had identified it as a Rock pipit as it was happily hopping around on rocks by the Moray Firth but on closer inspection the legs are pink rather than black/dark brown. Think now that this is a meadow pipit

and the darker bird (below) is, as you have all suggested, a rock pipit


I think the meadow pipit was pretending to be a rock pipit by hopping around on rocks, and the rock pipit was pretending to be a meadow pipit by hopping around on grass. Thanks for all your expert help. I think I'm going to enjoy the WAB website.

Dan

[RoyW]

Don't be too quick to second guess yourself Dan - U]both[/u] of these are Rock Pipits!

The legs on a Rock Pipits can be pinkish, but not the same pale pink colour as Meadow Pipits. Meadows are smaller, slimmer birds with much cleaner, typically buff tinged underparts and well defined black streaking both above and below. Rock Pipits are darker, dirtier looking birds with less defined, 'smudgy' looking streaks.

Roy.

[DanDare]

Wow, the same bird, I would never have guessed that the same bird could look so different, no wonder I was having problems with this one. Thanks Roy for your help. It's no wonder that its sometimes difficult to find a bird in the books.

Dan