Today began, warm as usual, but after a warm Autumn, it seems the weather is finally beginning to cool, to our relief as we set off down the mountain to setup our nets! And, once again, we were almost immediately rewarded for our efforts with a beautiful little Fire-breasted Flowerpecker!
This little species is best found by it high-pitched, buzzing call, heard from the treetops above. If you are lucky enough to spot the caller, you would most likely see a metallic dark blue little bird, with a creamy belly and a scarlet red patch on its upper breast- hence its name.
This individual, however, was in juvenile or female-type plumage. These are not often caught in our nets, and gave us an interesting insight into their moulting strategies. However, as with many of our resident species, more data is needed to be sure of how to age this species. Thus, for now, it must be aged as a 1st calendar year bird or older.
Our day continued slow, with the usual Asian Brown Flycatcher, and our resident Babblers and Leiothrixes.
Our next interesting individual was a young (1st calendar year) Japanese Tit! The Japanese Tit subspecies here in Hong Kong lack the green back found in those in the north, causing confusions between them and the similar-looking Cinerous Tit. However, it is now widely know that these individuals in Hong Kong are all Japanese Tits (Parus minor) of the subspecies commixtus.
The moult strategy of this specie is Summer Complete, for adults, and Summer partial for juvenile. Like most tit species, they usually moult all of their lesser, median and greater coverts. This means the only juvenile feathers to be found in the wing are usually the primary coverts and primaries, secondaries and tertials. However this bird appears to have carried out quite an extensive moult, with all tertials and one secondary moulted (and one growing secondary).
Finally, we ended our day with the wonderful surprise of a Speckled Piculet! Another not-so-often-caught and not-well-studied resident species. As with our little Flowerpecker, we once again must age this bird as a 1st calendar year or older.
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher | 1 | 0 |
| Cinereous Tit | 1 | 0 |
| Eastern Crowned Warbler | 3 | 0 |
| Fire-breasted Flowerpecker | 1 | 0 |
| Huet’s Fulvetta | 0 | 9 |
| Red-billed Leiothrix | 0 | 1 |
| Rufous-capped Babbler | 2 | 6 |
| Speckled Piculet | 1 | 0 |
| Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler | 0 | 1 |
*Please note that all wild birds, their nests, and eggs are highly protected (under Wild Animals Protection Ordinate, Cap. 170) in Hong Kong. It is an offence to wilfully disturb, take, remove, or injure wild birds or their nests/eggs. The actions described here were undertaken by trained professionals holding the necessary licenses and permits issued by the AFCD.*
