This morning the weather finally began to give us a little relief from the stifling heat, with a light breeze in the air. With the winds came some nice “Little Brown Jobs”- an affectionate birding term for all the small brown birds.
Though it seems the influx of Pale-legged Leaf Warblers has passed, we were left with a few juvenile Arctic Warblers. These can be identified by their lack of obvious moults and uniform, generally fresh juvenile wing and tail.
Next up was another Brown-flanked Bush Warbler! This little one was in its Summer Complete moult, with a few still growing/old secondaries and primaries. Though ageing the old feathers can be pretty difficult, we could be sure that this little one was a juvenile due to the incomplete skull pneumatisation.
The warm midday sun seemed to cause a calm to come to the nets, so we busied ourselves with a spot of birdwatching while we waited. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long for another nice bird to come, taking the form of a Mountain Tailorbird! This bird appeared to have finished its Summer Complete moult, but can still be identified as a juvenile, again due to an incomplete skull pneumatisation.
We also has yet another Asian Brown Flycatcher! This bird was also a juvenile, with 8 juvenile GCs and a completely juvenile tail.
Finally, we ended our day with an incredibly interesting individual- a Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher! This is the 10th Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher ever caught by the HKBWS! This bird appeared to have just one GC moulted (GC 4), while the rest of the wing appeared juvenile.
This individual also appeared to be quite an odd-looking bird, due to the brown fringes to the tips of the undertail coverts, a little strange bill shape and head patterning. An intriguing end to the day!
Daily Totals
| Species | Original | Recapture |
| Arctic Warbler | 3 | 0 |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher | 2 | 0 |
| Blue-winged Minla | 0 | 1 |
| Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher | 1 | 0 |
| Brown-flanked Bush Warbler | 1 | 0 |
| Chestnut Bulbul | 1 | 0 |
| Huet’s Fulvetta | 0 | 3 |
| Mountain Tailorbird | 0 | 1 |
| Pale-legged Leaf Warbler | 2 | 1 |
| Red-billed Leiothrix | 1 | 0 |
| Rufous-capped Babbler | 0 | 2 |
*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 willfully 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.*
