HKBWS BBS 香港觀鳥會新聞組


    
      
        HKBWS BBS 香 港 觀 鳥 會 新 聞 組
        (http://www.hkbws.org.hk/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl)
      

        Discussion Area 討論區 >> Bird Identification 鳥類辨識 >>  Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
        
(Message started by: Tony on Oct 10^th, 2006, 11:10am)

Title: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Tony on Oct 10^th, 2006, 11:10am

Can anyone able to help me to identify this bird?
The bird was seen this morning in a Bamboo shrubland in HK Island, it has jump on the ground and fly to back to the branch near the ground. No sound was detected by this birds. It is around a asian brown flycatcher's size.

9:00am
HK Island
Cannon EOS 20D 1.4x300mm

http://web.hku.hk/~raccoon/IMG_0911_ed.jpg
http://web.hku.hk/~raccoon/IMG_0910_ed.jpg
http://web.hku.hk/~raccoon/IMG_0913_ed.jpg

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Mike Kilburn on Oct 10^th, 2006, 4:33pm

Hi Tony

You are right - this is a Rufous-tailed Robin - and a very early record!

At this timeof year you have to be a little acreful to separate it from the very rare Brown-chested Flycatcher, but from you pix you can see the grey patterning on the breast and belly, which the flycatcher does not show.

Cheers
Mike K

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Tony on Oct 11^th, 2006, 12:09am

Thanks Mike.
Is the Brwon Chested Flycather in the Birds of HK and South China? I can't find it.

Tony

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Mike Kilburn on Oct 11^th, 2006, 6:59am

The full name is Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher.

There some pix on this BBS as several birds have been seen this year and last year. The dark pattern on the breast of the flycatcher is muchless extensive.

You could also check out the Oriental Bird Images website, which has a database of pix of Asian birds.

Cheers

Mike K

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Paul Leader on Oct 11^th, 2006, 11:08am

The light is very odd on this, but I think this is a first-winter female Siberian Blue Robin. I think the flanks are too dark for RTRobin and there is no sign of the classic scalloping on the breast of that species. RTR also shows strong rufous fringes to the primaries and secondaries (similar in brightness to the tail) and a pale throat which this bird lacks. It is a first winter (note the moult contrast in the greater coverts) and first winter RTR show much more obvious pale tips to the greater coverts than this bird. I suspect that some of the early records in the Avifauna of Rufous-tailed Robin are also Siberian Blue Robins.

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by miket on Oct 11^th, 2006, 10:47pm

I think these shots of what must be a SB Robin, actually capture a lot of the sensations of a typical encounter with a charismatic skulker such as this.

Such are the wonders of modern digital photography.

Mike Turnbull

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Mike Kilburn on Oct 12^th, 2006, 1:39am

Interested to hear the views above but I still favour RT Robin for the following reasons

How often does Sibe Blue Robin show as much rufous in the tail as this bird?I can find no other pix on the web - only 1 which shows concolourous brown with the wings & tail.

I think the scalloping on the breast may be obscured by the angle and there are lots of pix on Oriental Bird Images of RT Robin with buffy flanks.

Very interested to hear other views especially considering the unusual liht conditions.

Also in an autumn with so many other early migrants, I don't find RT Robin totally implausable in mid October.

Cheers

Mike K

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Tony on Oct 12^th, 2006, 1:44am

Thanks very much for discussion on this bird.
But I think it is more likely to be a rufous-tailed robin rather than a 1st winter female SB robin after I check the photos on Oriental bird images since there appear some brown streaks/scales on the belly of the bird.
http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=1&action=searchresult&Bird_ID=2573&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1

Title: Re: Unknown Bird--- Rufous-tailed Robin???
Post by Paul Leader on Oct 12^th, 2006, 10:33am

Still cannot see how this is a Rufous-tailed Robin! First-winter female SBR do not have blue tails, they have dull brown tail feathers with brighter fringes, whereas Rufous-tailed Robins have uniformly rufous tail feathers (see link below) which this bird clearly does not have - note the darker central tail feathers.

http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=10&action=searchresult&Bird_ID=2573&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1

In addition I think picture 1 shows enough of the breast to show scalloping if there any and there is nothing of the indistinct malar and reduced supercilium in fornt of the eye usually shown by RTR.

I know it is also a small point but I think the pattern of the greater coverts is very important here and eliminate RTR.