Spot-breasted Parrotbill - Escapee or Wild?

A Spot-breasted Parrotbill was found by birders a few weeks back, and relocated recently. This species has never been recorded in Hong Kong before, but being a largely sedentary species, its appearance in Hong Kong is somewhat surprising. Being stuck in Hong Kong for two years now, I can't really say no to a crazy looking parrotbill! It took very little effort to relocate this very vocal bird, in a matter of minutes we were looking at this large and simply insane looking parrotbill. I've seen this species on my travels to northern Thailand, and viewing conditions were very similar, it perched up calling within a a few meters to us.

Spot-breasted Parrotbill

Now the big question, is this bird an escapee or a genuine wild bird? The answer may not be as simple as we think. Historically we've had Grey-headed Parrotbills records from Hong Kong Island, they were considered as escapes, the live bird trade in Hong Kong is unfortunately alive and well, and we do find the odd exotic bird every so often, this could well have been brought to Hong Kong via pet trade, escaped or released somewhere and ended up on suitable habitats on Tai Mo Shan.

But, Hong Kong is well within the natural range of this species, with closest record just 200km east of Hong Kong. They are also found in northern Guangdong at sites such as Nanling and Chebaling. So, Hong Kong is well within reach for this species. As we have learnt in the past that sedentary species are capable of spreading from one patch of suitable habitat to another, who is to say that this could not have been a naturally spreading bird from nearby population that just ended up here? That being said, most species that naturally spread to Hong Kong will often see a spread in Guangdong first, I am not sure whether this species is showing sign of spread in Guangdong, though I've never seen this species at any of the forested sites near Hong Kong, although that could be due to the fact that we were looking at the wrong habitat, where this species require tall grass and shrubs to thrive, and we've mostly been looking at forested sites. My guess is that this will be first put into category III for now, until we see more clear signs of spread it will probably remain there. Either way, this is a fun bird to see and photograph and brings back joyful memories from northern Thailand!

Spot-breasted Parrotbill

Tai Mo Shan is of course home to our local Vinous-throated Parrotbills, it was believed that the population here derived from caged birds as well, yet we are very well within its natural range, as this species is actually quite common throughout most of Guangdong.

Vinous-throated Parrotbill

No visit to Tai Mo Shan is completed without at least trying for the Chinese Grassbird. Managed to find a fairly friendly one, singing out in the open. With such limited global distribution, I always feel very fortunate that we can find this species relatively easily in Hong Kong, and no doubt one of the top resident species here!

Chinese Grassbird

Chinese Babax was heard only, this rare resident remains rather elusive. A Eurasian Hoopoe was a bit of a surprising find, I've never seen them up here before, although they are known to wander and can turn up almost anywhere. This one was seen feeding on the grass amongst the large boulders. I even got a new butterfly species while looking for birds up there, an Orange Punch, one of the three species of Riodinidae found in Hong Kong, and no doubt the best looking of the lot!

Eurasian Hoopoe

Orange Punch

As mid April approaches, more migratory waders are now arriving. The first of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper arrived, unfortunately I was a day late and missed the bird. Still, there were plenty of migrants to look at and often at close range. Terek Sandpipers now in very good numbers, and we are also seeing more Broad-billed Sandpipers. Red-necked Stints are common and will often walk right up to the bird hide. No less than 20 Nordmann's Greenshanks were feeding and resting on the mudflat, they have a habit of staying until the water is so high that they can barely stand on the mudflat.

Terek Sandpiper

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Red-necked Stint

Nordmann's Greenshank

There were plenty of Whimbrels feeding close to the bird hide, a few Far Eastern Curlews came relatively close, their brown rump is a feature best seen in flight. Their difference with the similar Eurasian Curlew don't stop there, Far Eastern Curlews also have marked underwing, as oppose to the plain underwing of Eurasian Curlews.

Whimbrel

Far Eastern Curlew

Eurasian Curlew

Most Grey Herons are winter visitors in Hong Kong, although some do stay over summer. Great Egrets now moulted into their breeding plumage, with bright green facial skin and black bill. Little Egret is perhaps the most common egret species in Hong Kong, but it is often amongst them we find the much rarer Chinese Egret, a species that formerly bred in Hong Kong but now only as a migrant, spring is definitely the best time to see them as they moulted into the exquisite breeding plumage with beautiful head plumes. Almost equally exquisite looking are the many Black-faced Spoonbills in breeding plumage.

Great Egret & Grey Heron

Little Egret

Chinese Egret

Black-faced Spoonbill

Wintering Chinese Penduline Tits are still around, it is not difficult to find them feeding in reedbeds. Once you know their call, they are actually quite easy to locate, and you hear them everywhere!

Chinese Penduline Tit

The drained pond at San Tin continues to provide some refuge to migrant waders, including a small flock of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. They were feeding in the remaining puddles with numerous Long-toed Stints, the two species actually resembles one another in plumage, but very different in size. The exposed mud is the perfect nesting ground for Little Ringed Plover, their eggs perfectly camouflaged on the pebbled and shell littered ground.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper & Long-toed Stint

Little Ringed Plover

Closer to home, breeding Hainan Blue Flycatchers are back, their songs can now be heard throughout the forest. The good weather and continued north easterly winds are not doing much in bringing in new migrants, the only notable migrant I got near home is a huge flock of Ashy Minivets, I estimated around 100 together, likely one of the largest congregation of Ashy Minivets in Hong Kong ever! As previous high count was 55 birds.

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male

Ashy Minivet - male

Ashy Minivet - female

I tried visiting the Ting Kok East Coast for migratory waders, but the tide was too high for any waders to be feeding there. The nearby grassy area hosted a single Little Bunting that was too quick for me to grab a photo, Yellow-bellied Prinias are in song and very confiding. One of the best bird present was a Siberian Rubythroat in song, though a bit far it was nice to see this usually skulking bird out in the open.

Yellow-bellied Prinia

Siberian Rubythroat - male

Northern Thailand - February 2019 : Part 2

Day 3 - Doi Lang (Western Slope)

We had an early start at 4:30am to drive towards the western slope of Doi Lang, as we wanted to arrive at the Hume's Pheasant stakeout before sunrise. We arrived in complete darkness, and Ball helped pitched the portable bird hides on the side of the road. As it got brighter, birds started calling and a few White-browed Laughingthrushes appeared in front of our bird hide. They were soon joined by a few even noisier birds in form of Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler.

White-browed Laughingthrush

Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler

Soon after a few large birds emerged from the right hand side of the road, up to three female Hume's Pheasant came out onto the road to feed. Like all female pheasants they look quite plain at first glance, but their plumage are really quite beautiful when you are able to look closely at the delicate patterns.

Hume's Pheasant - female

It was most unfortunate that a car came past and spooked the pheasants back into the undergrowth...All was quiet except for a few Japanese Tits and Rufescent Prinias feeding in front of our bird hide.

Japanese Tit

Rufescent Prinia

It felt like forever, but after another 30 minutes, our patience paid off when a few female Hume's Pheasant walked out onto the road, and soon after a brilliant looking male Hume's Pheasant followed. It was extremely cautious at first, but after the females started feeding frantically on the road the male finally relaxed.

Hume's Pheasant - male, the star of the show!

Flock of Hume's Pheasant feeding on the road

At one point it disappeared into the left side, only to return a few minutes later and posed for us on the middle of the road. Bursts of shutters filled the morning air...

Hume's Pheasant - the photogenic male posing on the road

The pheasants soon had their fill and left, leaving the 'stage' open for other attractions, the most brilliant being a beautiful male Ultramarine Flycatcher, it was no doubt a show stopper and completely won me over.

Ultramarine Flycatcher - male

Other great birds were also present, although attracting a lot less attention, including a female Slaty-backed Flycatcher, a pair of Grey Bush Chats and a juvenile male Siberian Rubythroat.

Slaty-backed Flycatcher - female

Grey Bush Chat - male

Siberian Rubythroat - juvenile male

A Chestnut-vented Nuthatch also came by, along with a steady stream of White-browed Laughingthrush, which was no doubt the most common bird in the area.

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch

White-browed Laughingthrush

While the small birds danced around in front of us, four Mountain Bamboo Partridges materialised out of thin air further back! This being another one of my target species received it's fair shares of shutter counts. I find the patterning on these partridges subtly beautiful, the four birds were rather inconspicuous and stayed only shortly before disappearing into the undergrowth once more.

Mountain Bamboo Partridge

Having had a successful early morning run we left the bird hide in high spirit, I was so contented at that moment, that I wasn't quite ready for a Spot-breasted Parrotbill that jumped into view after a quick burst of playback by Ball. This incredible looking species possesses a wonderfully comical beak even amongst other parrotbills.

Spot-breasted Parrotbill

Ball drove us up to a stretch of road that connects to the border of Myanmar, the guard on duty is used to birders coming to this area. Here we saw a few Large Cuckooshrikes, small flock of Grey-chinned Minivets and many Flavescent Bulbuls. It was quiet overall, although we managed to spot a Bush Warbler of some kind skulking in the tall grass, which is most likely an Aberrant Bush Warbler. We also saw a Bunting species of some kind, although we were unable to relocate the bird once it flew into the tall grass. Davison's Leaf Warblers were extremely common here and their songs were heard continuously.

Overlooking towards Myanmar

Large Cuckooshrike

Grey-chinned Minivet - male

Flavescent Bulbul

Davison's Leaf Warbler

By that time it was mid-morning, and things had gone quiet. Ball suggested that we visit some of the feeding stations. Bird photographers had setup various stakeouts and feeding stations along a patch of moist forest over the years, and these spots attracts plenty of birds to visit every year, some species even returning on an annual basis. The most common species here were again Flavescent Bulbuls and White-browed Laughingthrushes.

Flavescent Bulbul

White-browed Laughingthrush

At the first stakeout we added a White-gorgeted Flycatcher and a male Slaty-blue Flycatcher, both were lifers for me. Although a male Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher was the most dominant of the three species, constantly fighting for the best feeding spots.

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

Slaty-blue Flycatcher - male

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher - male

At another stakeout, a female Slaty-blue Flycatcher was present, it was however rather shy, only coming out to feed sparingly, and always lightning quick when it did. A few Silver-eared Laughingthrushes were however far more cooperative.

Slaty-blue Flycatcher - female

Silver-eared Laughingthrush

The male White-bellied Redstart never showed at the stakeout, so we decided to have lunch first before walking around to look for birds along the road. There are no amenities of any kind at Doi Lang, therefore birders will need to prepare your own food and drinks. After lunch things started off pretty well, with a male Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush, a Slender-billed Oriole and a few Short-billed Minivets also made an appearance.

Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush - male

Slender-billed Oriole - male

Short-billed Minivet - male

A male Orange-bellied Leafbird and a few Yunnan Fulvettas were not as exciting as a Hume's Treecreeper which came out of nowhere! I also spotted a beautiful Golden-throated Barbet, which was our first sighting after two days of 'heard only'.

Orange-bellied Leafbird - male

Yunnan Fulvetta

Hume's Treecreeper

Golden-throated Barbet

With no signs of Himalayan Cutias, we decided to head back to the stakeout to wait around for the White-bellied Redstart. For an hour we only saw glimpses of the bird, hopping around and calling in the undergrowth, while many Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babblers came and gone. We were getting increasingly impatient for the Redstart, especially when two Giant Nuthatches flew over our heads...It finally revealed itself properly after a gruelling wait, although I must admit it is quite a stunning looking bird when it decided to appear.

Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler

White-bellied Redstart - male

It was getting darker by the minute and we wanted to make use of the remaining sunlight to look for Giant Nuthatches and Himalayan Cutias. We added Black-throated Tits nearby and later a pair of Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers. A male Siberian Rubythroat perched out in the open on the side of the road was quite a nice surprise.

Black-throated Tit

Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Siberian Rubythroat - male

It was already past 6pm when Ball heard the call of Himalayan Cutias, I searched extremely hard for them but had no luck, a Stripe-breasted Woodpecker and a large flock of Grey-headed Parrotbills ended our day. Although slightly disappointed about the Cutia, Ball stated that we will get another chance the day after when we can return here for a cleanup.

Stripe-breasted Woodpecker - female

Grey-headed Parrotbill

Day 4 - Doi Lang (Eastern Slope)

It was yet another early start, Ball had booked an open backed jeep for the journey up this side of Doi Lang, as the roads are much rougher here. We got through the check point and stopped at the concrete bridge to look for some birds in the early hours. It was quite productive there and we yielded quite a few species, including Barred Cuckoo-dove, Collared Babbler and White-necked Laughingthrush to name a few, but none of which allowed a photo record. A Streaked Spiderhunter came along with a flock of Striated Yuhinas. While an Orange-bellied Leafbird also made an appearance, as did a Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo. Several Mountain Imperial Pigeons flew past but one perched on top of the bombax tree for a better look.

Streaked Spiderhunter

Orange-bellied Leafbird - male

Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo

Mountain Imperial Pigeon

We arrived at the Border Police Check Point, which is quite a popular birding spot at Doi Lang, as the police had put out rice and fruits for the birds on a daily regular basis, attracting many species here. We were quickly greeted by flocks of Silver-eared Laughingthrushes, as well as the beautiful Scarlet-faced Liocichla. Black-backed Sibias were also very active here.

Silver-eared Laughingthrush

Scarlet-faced Liocichla

Black-backed Sibia

Our attention shifted to another feeding spot, where a few absolutely stunning Spectacled Barwings made their grand entrance. Soon after more Scarlet-faced Liocichla followed, as well as even more Black-backed Sibias...

Spectacled Barwing

Rufous-faced Liocichla

Black-backed Sibia

Around the same area a male Large Niltava made an appearance and was extremely photogenic, while a few Whiskered Yuhinas showed very briefly, I was just quick enough to grab a few record shots before they disappeared.

Large Niltava - male

Whiskered Yuhina

We walked further down the slope to find a small feeding flock, consisting of a few Black-eared Shrike-babblers. Short-billed Minivets also made an appearance with the flock.

Black-eared Shrike-babbler

Short-billed Minivet

There were many warblers within the flock, none of which provided particularly good views, but I was able to grab a shot of this particular one which I think maybe a Chinese Leaf Warbler. 

Chinese Leaf Warbler

Further along we found a Davison's Leaf Warbler feeding at eye-levels, a great opportunity to observe this species closely. This is by far the most common species in the area, their cheerful song is diagnostic.

Davison's Leaf Warbler

A male White-tailed Robin came to the feeding station looking for food, while a female Himalayan Bluetail also came in, just in good time as a tour led by Uthai Treesucon came along, Uthai is one of the author of the Lynx "Birds of Thailand". So we decided to move on somewhere else for other birds.

White-tailed Robin - male

Himalayan Bluetail - female

We drove up to the San Ju View Point, where Ball stated as an area sometimes good for wintering thrushes, and also good place to scan for raptors. We only yielded a male Red-flanked Bluetail for our effort but Ball stated this is less common than the Himalayan Bluetail in northern Thailand, although I would have much preferred the latter. We had lunch at the view point, and sure enough a Mountain Hawk Eagle drifted past.

Red-flanked Bluetail - male

Mountain Hawk Eagle

After lunch we returned once again to the police check point, a mixed flock provided good views of a pair of Blyth's Shrike-babbler, a species you hear constantly but good views are hard to come by.

Blyth's Shrike-babbler - male & female

We walked down into the valley where a Snowy-browed Flycatcher supposedly resides, the flycatcher only gave brief views, but the area was alive with birds, including a few Yellow-bellied Fantail, Chestnut-crowned Warbler, Rufous-winged Fulvettas, Golden Babblers and Yellow-cheeked Tits. While Slaty-bellied Tesia was heard only.

Yellow-bellied Fantail

Chestnut-crowned Warbler

Rufous-winged Fulvetta

Golden Babbler

Yellow-cheeked Tit - male

Back out along the main road we saw yet more Davison's Leaf Warblers and Yellow-bellied Fantail, while Spectacled Barwings again attracted plenty of attention.

Davison's Leaf Warbler

Yellow-bellied Fantail

Spectacled Barwing

Things quietened down in the afternoon, several small mixed flock came through but we added nothing majoring exciting, a Pallas's Squirrel also came by. A few Short-billed Minivets provided slightly better views than before.

Pallas's Squirrel

Short-billed Minivet

Two subspecies of the Blue Whistling Thrush can be found in Thailand, including the yellow billed of race eugenei and the black billed of race caeruleus. To me the yellow billed individuals looked extremely different to the black billed ones, they are also larger in size. In the same area we also found a pair of Little Pied Flycatchers, the female was especially photogenic.

Blue Whistling Thrush - race eugenei

Little Pied Flycatcher - female

At a fruiting tree we were able to add Striated Bulbul, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful bulbuls out there, although the Crested Finchbill is probably not far behind. We added very little afterwards, so we decided it was time to head back to town.

Striated Bulbul

Crested Finchbill

On our way down we met with Uthai's group again, as we were waving at them they told us to stop the car, all I heard was "Frogmouth", and the next thing I knew everyone was out of the car! Turns out Uthai had located a female Hodgson's Frogmouth at it's day roost, which is not a common sight at all! As most birders come to look for this species in March to April when they are nesting, only males sit at the nest, so we never had high hopes for this species on this trip, let alone a female! Therefore making this an extremely pleasant surprise for all of us!

Habitat shot of the Hodgson's Frogmouth

Hodgson's Frogmouth - female

We stopped briefly at the Hill Tribe Rice Fields, there we added a very distant Rufous-winged Buzzard, a few Striated Swallows, Siberian Stonechats, Paddyfield Pipits and Chinese Pond Herons.

Rufous-winged Buzzard

Striated Swallow

Siberian Stonechat - female

Paddyfield Pipit

Chinese Pond Heron

Everything after the Frogmouth was a bit of an anti-climax, including a few Red Jungle Fowls by the side of the road, only the female stopped long enough for me to get a photo. A female Asian Fairy Bluebird was our last bird of the day.

Red Junglefowl - female

Asian Fairy Bluebird - female