John Holmes

2010-Jan-17   Ping Yeung
1D MKIV + 800mm + 1.4x

John Holmes

Hello Fai;

Yes, they ARE a bit difficult to tell apart.  

This species was probably just overlooked in Hong Kong until - in 1991 - a visiting birder saw some and inspired a closer look by HK birders.

Bright-capped Cisticola has a RUFOUS supercilium, rufous sides to the neck, and rufous nape.  The tail is uniformly dark with BUFFY tips, as can be seen in the photo above.

Also, Bright-capped Cisticola (also known as Bright-headed Cisticola) has a "bleating" PZEEEET call.  

Here is a link to a very similar-sounding bird ( but a different race to ours) in the Philippines...

http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds ... tLuzon09Edwards.mp3


Zitting Cisticola (formerly known as Fantail Warbler) has a whiteish supercilium and a WHITE tipped tail.  See photo below.  (also taken at Ping Yeung yesterday, 2010-Jan-17)

John Holmes

Thanks, John A. , for that concise summary !

Bright-capped is usually more rufous, and darker than Zitting, but this is not always very obvious.
- and mentioned by Fai, confirmed by John, LONGER tailed.