tmichael

Seems very buffy on the flanks if not everywhere below?

Uppertail coverts not fully visible - do appear blackish.

Any more shots? Call noted?

Possible Red-breasted?

Mike Turnbull

tmichael

Actually you are right about the bill colour issue - I'd forgotten about that feature.

Not sure bill-shape is relevant, but maybe.

Still, to see any other angles would be interesting.

Mike Turnbull

tmichael

Actually you are right about the bill colour issue - I'd forgotten about that feature.

Not sure bill-shape is relevant, but maybe.

Still, to see any other angles would be interesting.

Mike Turnbull

tmichael

Seems so, on basis of bill + uppertail covs.

Nonetheless surprisingly warm and buffy for Taiga/Red-throated.

Interesting individual.

Mike Turnbull

tmichael

Up to about ten years ago, maybe a little longer Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers were in my experience totally absent (I lived there in Mid-Levels/The Peak from 1987-1997) , though we did get the odd Fire-breasted eg in the Coombe Road area. I assumed at the time that this meant mistletoe was absent or rare in the area.

In the last ten years certainly around where I work (Borrett Road near Bowen Road) they have become numerous; I don't often get to check out the id but they sound like Sb and it's logical that a very common NT species has now re-colonised HK Island.

Mike Turnbull

tmichael

Behaviour as described does not seem really typical, but they can be in trees/shrubs - the photo suggests a bird at eye-level in some sort of creeper - looks ideal. Neither species is really very skulking.

If it did give a high-pitched  Arctic-like call this might suggest Yellow-streaked, which reportedly calls like a bunting, but I've never heard it.

Bill looks fine enough but there is overlap I believe.

Mike Turnbull.

[ Last edited by tmichael at 17/11/2010 15:24 ]