Possible Japanese Tit at Airfield Road
We have recently received a report, including photographs, of a possible Japanese Tit Parus minor at Shek Kong on 21 December 2012, sent to us from AFCD.
In our current thinking on the 'Eastern Great Tit' complex, the HK species is Parus cinereous commixtus or Cinereous Tit in English. Note this is different to the official IOC designation which places commixtus within the Parus minor species, which we believe is incorrect.
So this would be a new addition to the HK List if accepted. Although this will have to go before the full Records Committee, the current view is that the photographs possibly do show a Japanese Tit.
The purpose of this note is to alert members to the possibility that the bird is either still in the Shek Kong Airfield Road area, or that there are others around (as you are aware, this has been an exceptional autumn/winter for northern arrivals). It is not an easy separation between Cinereous and Japanese Tit but depends on a combination of subtle differences which we are only just starting to come to understand ourselves. Currently, it is thought that Japanese Tit shows the following differences with Cinereous Tit
more obvious greenish upper mantle and nape
broader and whiter tips to the greater wing coverts (making a broad white wing bar)
smaller black bib
more extensive white on the outer tail feathers
of which the first may be the most obvious on first view (but note, some Cinereous do show a greenish tinge here also). It is possible we will have some photographs to show later. Brazil's 'Birds of East Asia' shows the two named as Eastern Great Tit (minor) and Southern Great Tit (cinereous commixtus) on pages 312 and 313 although we may not entirely agree with the descriptions given. These are difficult species to separate.
The bird was photographed on the floor of the nullah in Airfield Road, but may of course be elsewhere by now.
[ Last edited by wgeoff at 16/01/2013 13:00 ]
