We are back with our wetland birds today, with some old friends we haven’t seen in a while!
First up was this gorgeous boy (ageing first!…but it’s a boy). Hardly needing to look at the wing with a gorgeous plumage like this (watch me eat my words tomorrow), Daurian Redstarts have the typical; Adult Summer Complete, Juvenile Summer partial moult. In this individual, we can see the entire wing is fresh and uniform, with broad, dark feathers and no moult limits. Therefore, he is, indeed, an adult male! What a way to start the morning!
Next up were two of our more cryptic species; the Manchurian Bush Warbler! These are very similar in appearance to other Bush Warblers, and are best separated by whistling song, which is followed by a fast burst of notes. Ageing these is just as complicated, with both adults and juveniles undertaking Summer Complete moults. Therefore, both are aged as 1st calendar year or older birds. However, by the size of these birds, they can be separated into male and female (the males are bigger than the females). Interestingly, the male individual above showed two growing tail feathers (R4 & 5 on the left side), though in this species it is not useful for ageing.
Then came another of the favourites; a Siberian Rubythroat! A quick overview of the throat and mask could show a young male, however by now we know better than to try to sex a bird before ageing! A look at the wing shows a nice and fresh, uniform wing with all adult-type feathers. Therefore, this must be an adult bird, and, since the red throat is not well pronounced at all, must be an adult female!
We ended the day with a VERY interesting bird! At first glance, this may look like a Red-throated Flycatcher, however, a couple of characteristics stood out: The bill of this individual is not as dark as should be for a Red-throated Flycatcher- notice the pale base of the lower mandible. Furthermore, the longest upper tail coverts (bottom left) are not jet black as should be in Red-throated Flycatcher (bottom right). All these characteristics point to this being the far rarer Red-breasted Flycatcher!
The truth is, the best way to separate these species is to hear the call. But, of course, this individual did not call for us, so these are the best characteristics we have.
Moving on to the ageing, thankfully we age these species in the same way- Adult Summer Complete, juvenile summer partial with moult limits in the Greater Coverts. This is precisely what this individual showed, with the outer 7 GCs, being more worn and duller than the innermost 3, which are moulted (postjuvenile). Another fantastic day!
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Black-browed Reed Warbler | 1 | 2 |
| Chinese Penduline Tit | 1 | 0 |
| Common Kingfisher | 0 | 1 |
| Common Reed Bunting | 0 | 1 |
| Daurian Redstart | 1 | 0 |
| Dusky Warbler | 5 | 5 |
| Manchurian Bush Warbler | 2 | 0 |
| Plain Prinia | 2 | 0 |
| Siberian Rubythroat | 1 | 1 |
| Spotted Dove | 1 | 0 |
| Yellow-bellied Prinia | 3 | 1 |
| Red-breasted Flycatcher | 1 | 0 |
| Grand Total | 18 | 11 |
*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.*
