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Subject: Flycatcher - Hainan Blue or Blue-throated? [Print This Page]

Author: Beetle Time: 10/09/2010 14:32 Subject: Flycatcher - Hainan Blue or Blue-throated?

Tai Po Kau, 10 Sep 2010.

All photos are showing the same bird.
I wonder whether it is a female Hainan Blue Flycatcher or a Blue-throated Flycatcher?
It showed slow tail wagging and Fan-ing when we were observing.
Also noisy "chark" noise was heard from the bird.

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Thank you very much in advance.

[ Last edited by Beetle at 10/09/2010 14:46 ]

Author: Beetle Time: 12/09/2010 21:48

Any reply is appreciated!!

Author: brendank Time: 12/09/2010 22:58

I'm guessing it's a Hainan Blue. However, it's not really clear to me whether female Hainan Blue and Blue-throated Flycatchers could safely differentiated. I suspect they could be impossible to ID in the field. It seems the back and nape is grayer on the female Blue-throated than the Hainan Blue but I suppose there could be some variability with that mark.

Author: gary Time: 12/09/2010 23:15

This bird was again seen in Tai Po Kau today, supposing the same bird.
For me, I go for Blue-throated Flycatcher, although it can not rule out Hainan Blue Flycatcher.
Observation on field give me an impression of slightly larger in size than Hainan Blue.
Comparing with photo on OBC, it appears the orange breast, as shown in this photo, is relatively well-defined than Hainan Blue.

Gary

Author: Beetle Time: 12/09/2010 23:40

So that's interesting - there has been records (and photos) of both male and "female" Blue-throated Flycatchers during this autumn migration, i do wonder if this species is overlooked in previous years.

Author: fatchun Time: 12/09/2010 23:53

Quote:

Original posted by gary at 12/09/2010 23:15
This bird was again seen in Tai Po Kau today, supposing the same bird.
For me, I go for Blue-throated Flycatcher, although it can not rule out Hainan Blue Flycatcher.
Observation on field give me an i ...

If this was blue-throated flycatcher, how about this bird?
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/viewthread.php?tid=12090&extra=page%3D1

It shows a orange chest and throat. Also, I think the bill's shape was a bit different, although it may be due to the angle of shots.
On the field, these two birds showed a different behavior. Beetle's one would like to fan and shake its tail, but mine would be very stable and unactive. I don't know if this is a good judgement on their ID, and I think this could be a interesting topic to be discussed. Thank you very much.

Author: ajohn Time: 13/09/2010 13:49

My feeling for this bird is that it is a female Hainan Blue. I agree with Brendan that these are clearly very similar species, and separating them is likely to be very difficult based on current knowledge. Hainan Blue is a fairly common breeding species, whereas Blue-throated is still very rare, so Hainan should be the expected species.
Although the breast on the second image here looks fairly well defined, I think that is partly related to the angle of the bird. On image 1 it seems more diffuse, and similar in colour to the upperparts. This feature is more expected on Hainan Blue than Blue-throated (I think), also the eye-ring seems relatively narrow and poorly-defined. Overall I favour an ID of Hainan Blue for this bird.

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