May has been a hot and slow month on the island. A total of just 7 new birds were ringed this month.
This included two gorgeous Brown Shrikes! We’ve spoken about Brown Shrikes and their complicated moults before, but, in short, regardless of moult limits, we must be able to age the old feathers to be able to age the birds. This is not possible in the upper bird, who clearly shows one old secondary, but otherwise quite a nice and fresh, dark wing. Therefore we must age this bird as a 2nd calendar year or older.
However, the lower bird shows quite an obvious moult limit between the Greater Coverts and very worn and bleached Primary Coverts, Furthermore, on some of the innermost PCs, we can just about see some pale tips- all indicative of a 2nd calendar year bird!
Another wonderful highlight of the month was this Grey-streaked Flycatcher! Very few individuals have ever been caught before in Hong Kong, so this was quite a surprise for the team! Like most other Flycatchers, these guys moult as follows: Adults Summer Complete, winter partial; juveniles Summer partial, winter partial. This means that by Spring both adults and juveniles can show moult limits in the wing. But, as we’ve mentioned before, these moult limits are typically clearer between any old juvenile feathers vs the moulted postjuvenile and/or adult feathers, that between two different sets of adult feathers.
In our individual, there is quite a clear limit between the 2 innermost GCs and the old outermost 8 GCs. This, coupled with the very narrow, worn and bleached Primary Coverts, suggesting this is a 2nd calendar year bird!
We have reached the end of our Spring season for our island project. So everyone stay safe in the warm Summer days, and we will be back again the Autumn!
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Brown Shrike | 2 | 0 |
| Japanese Tit | 0 | 1 |
| Common Tailorbird | 2 | 0 |
| Common Emerald Dove | 2 | 0 |
| Grey-streaked Flycatcher | 1 | 0 |
| Grand Total | 7 | 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.*
