Magnus Robb finds second Blyth’s Pipit for Portugal
These sound recordings, sonagrams and the photo refer to the recently accepted second Blyth’s Pipit for Portugal, as far as we know the most westerly ever. It was found by Magnus Robb, who heard it then saw it while on the island of Berlenga, Leiria on 13 October 2010. In the first recording, you can hear the two main call types of Blyth’s, a long one and a short one. Associating with a flock of migrant Meadow Pipits, this Blyth’s gave the short call most often, and occasionally the longer call or intermediate ones. Remarkably, while monitoring nocturnal migration at 23:18 the night before, Magnus had already recorded a single call of the longer type. At the time he noted it as something strange, possibly rare, but the penny only dropped when he listened to the recording again two days later. With fresh experience of Blyth’s by day, he recognised the call as belonging to the same species, and almost certainly the same bird, perhaps given the moment it arrived on the island.
Click below to play the recording
101013-MR-122000-11 A godlewskii both call types
Click below to play the recording
101012-MR-232834 A godlewskii night