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Po Toi Autumn 2008

I would also go for Chinese Sparrowhawk (immature male), based on several features.

1. Japanese seem to consistently show 5 protruding primaries while Chinese have 4, resulting in rounder, broader wingtip in Japanese and more tapered wingtip in Chinese; this bird shows typical Chinese wingtip with 4 fingers, the 3rd from above being the longest;

2. Japanese has a somewhat smaller secondary 'bulge' than Besra, but this is definitely bigger than that in Chinese - in this bird I think we could agree that the rear wing edge is straight and the bulge is not too prominent, suggesting Chinese;

3. Immature Chinese shows no dark wingtip. They do however show heart spots on the chest, but considering it's late November I wonder about the possibility that the immature -> adult transition results in this hybrid plumage that fits male Chinese (entirely white underpart with no obvious patterning) apart from the wingtip.

Having said that I'm not very experienced in Chinese Sparrowhawk - would love to hear more opinion from experts. =]

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