[BirdPhotoIndia] Fwd: Grey-sided bush warbler, Sattal

There have been some doubts expressed about the ID of this bush warbler, so here are some more pics and a bit of background. It was initially IDed by our guide, Hari Lama, as chestnut-sided bush warbler (Cettia major) based on only a few fleeting glimpses as it hopped from one grassy clump into another. Later I could manage some pictures and after seeing them, concluded that it was grey-sided (Cettia brunnifrons). In the meantime, Hari also changed his mind a few times and finally has settled on Cettia major saying that the call in the field did not match with the call of grey-sided, and that he has seen Cettia major before in the same location.

Comments and opinions appreciated. Attaching comments from AMS below for reference.
All pics are of the same individual shot on 12th April.
Regards,
Garima

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Abhijit Menon-Sen <ams@toroid.org>
Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Subject: Re: (delhibirdpix) Grey-sided bush warbler, Sattal
To: Garima Bhatia <garima.bhatia@gmail.com>

> This one looked more like a prinia actually...

Exactly! That plus the fact that the supercilium is distinctly browner
in front of the eye, plus the rich brown tones of the plumage make me
think it must be C. major.

C. brunnescens is a tiny, differently-shaped[*] very light-footed bird
whose rufous cap contrasts strongly with the rest of its dingy-looking
greyish-brown plumage.

-- ams

*] I think of the Cettia warblers as belonging to two groups: the C.
  cetti-shaped ones, and the wren-like ones. The former have longer
  and broader tails, while the latter are round-bodied with short
  tails and tiny beaks.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Garima Bhatia <garima.bhatia@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 7:53 AM
Subject: Grey-sided bush warbler, Sattal
To: delhibirdpix <delhibirdpix@googlegroups.com>, Bird Photography India <birdphotoindia@googlegroups.com>, orientalbirdingpix@googlegroups.com


Grey-sided bush warbler at Sattal, April 12th 2011.

Cheers,
Garima

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Bird Photography India" group.