Another warm morning brought not so many passerines to the nets. It seems most of the migrants have moved on, with just a Dusky Warbler and another Baikal Bush Warbler in nets!
However, we had a nice catch of two Common Snipes!
Ageing of Common Snipes in spring seems notoriously difficult, due to the variation in the extent of the moult during the winter. Most literature comes from Europe and is conducted in autumn (see Further Reading below), where 1st calendar birds are easier to separate from adults. The bird above shows potentially 2 generations in the coverts, but to determine the age we must age the older feathers. Since these are now worn and with little information on them, it is best to leave this bird as a 2nd calendar year or older.
Next we caught a 1st calendar year Zitting Cisticola. This is our first baby Zitting Cisticola of the year. From what we know (from Javier Blasco), Zitting Cisticolas undergo a variable post-juvenile moult. It seems that the individual above has moulted all of its tertials and LCs, MCs and GCs. However, its more brown and less dense PCs, primaries and secondaries are all juvenile.
Finally, we had a nice Sooty-headed Bulbul! We do not catch these as often, so it was a nice catch. However, as with most of the Bulbuls, there is not much information yet on how to age these resident birds.
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Baikal Bush Warbler | 1 | 0 |
| Common Snipe | 2 | 0 |
| Dusky Warbler | 1 | 0 |
| Plain Prinia | 1 | 1 |
| Scaly-breasted Munia | 3 | 0 |
| Sooty-headed Bulbul | 1 | 0 |
| Swinhoe’s White-eye | 1 | 0 |
| Yellow-bellied Prinia | 0 | 1 |
| Zitting Cisticola | 1 | 0 |
*Please note that all wild birds are protected under Hong Kong Law. All ringing activities are conducted with the necessary permits issued by the AFCD. Handling and processing of birds is only carried out by experienced individuals.*
Further Reading
Włodarczyk, R., Kaczmarek, K., Minias, P. & Janiszewski, T. 2008. Ageing and sexing of the Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago gallinago. Wader Study Group Bull. 115(1): 45–49.
Kaczmarek, K., Minias, P., Włodarczyk, R., Janiszewski, T., Kleszcz, A. 2007. A new insight into the ageing of Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago‐ the value of contrast within the wing coverts of adults. Ringing & Migration. 23(4): 223-227.
Blasco-Zumeta, J. and Heinze, G., n.d. 193 Common Snipe. [online] Identification Atlas of Aragon’s Birds. Available at: <http://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/non-passeriformes/193.commonsnipe-ggallinago.pdf> [Accessed 28 June 2022].
Blasco-Zumeta, J. and Heinze, G., n.d. 350 Zitting Cisticola. [online] Identification Atlas of Aragon’s Birds. Available at: <https://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/passeriformes/350.zittingcisticola-cjuncidis.pdf> [Accessed 28 June 2022].
