We were at Cadgwith Cove in Cornwall this afternoon, sitting on the cliff top overlooking the village. Several times we saw what looked like a lark rising from the shrubbery growing along the cliff face. The bird looked smaller than a Skylark, and its song did not seem as mellow or tuneful and varied as a Skylark. It rose, while singing, to just above level with the cliff top, but instead of hovering there, it flicked its tail vertical and drifted back down into the shrubbery. Because the bird was about level with our eyeline, it was quite clear that its tail was held vertical (like a wren) during the descent - I don't know if Skylarks do that because I've only seen them from below. So in summary, its behaviour was like an understated Skylark, rising while singing, then drifting silently down into the shrubbery again. I would have identified it as a shore lark, but my trusty bird book shows them only on the east coast of the UK and only in winter. Anyone have any idea what our bird might have been?
There are quite a few candidates - pipits perform song-flights and so do some warblers eg Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. The coastal location suggests Rock Pipit. Though if it was mainly coming back to bushes I would also consider Whitethroat. I took this pic of a Whitethroat song-flighting the other day.
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Maybe meadow Pipit.They rise and parachute down.
Someone with more experience will be along with a definite ID :)
Brilliant photograph, Aiki. That looks a lot like the wing shape and tail of the bird we saw, although my wife thinks our bird was a bit warmer-coloured than that (reddish-brown) - I couldn't be certain about colour. The shrubbery was not so much bushes as a dense 2 to 3 feet thick layer of mixed wild plants and low-growing shrubs.
Whitethroats do have warm chestnut-brown tones on the upperside, esp the fringes of the wing feathers, which you can't see in my first pic but you can in this one :)
Having compared information on Whitethroat and Pipits, I'm favouring the Whitethroat as our bird. Many thanks for suggestions and great photos.