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Po Toi May 2009 蒲台島春季鳥況直擊(五月)

This bird must have been Black-winged Cuckoo Shrike and the call/song fits descriptions for that species.

HBW refers to a dark race saturata which breeds as close as Hainan.

It was still a bizarre bird in having a white rump band.

Mike Turnbull

[ Last edited by tmichael at 10/05/2009 06:30 ]

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Quick reply: voice as heard fits the description for Black-winged in HBW with "three or more high-pitched, descending, downslurred whistles" (though as I too recall from Ba Bao Shan, birds there do sing differently from this) and the dark saturata form from Hainan/Vietnam is said to be smaller.

Since nobody else is here to do so, can I just say that this bird had some feather damage (in the primaries, as seen in the photo) and some slight dishevelment in the upper parts, where, somewhere in the scapulars region or thereabouts. one feather seemed to be standing proud. There also seems to be some damage to an outer tail feather, and the possibility that it was simply missing some rump feathers might explain why it seemed to have a white rump band.

I therefore believe this is a Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike, probably of the form saturata from N Vietnam + Hainan (where maybe a short-distance migrant), with some question marks about how precisely it arrived here.

Mike Turnbull

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