Jonathmartinez

I do not understand why nobody take into
consideration the pale area at the base of lower mandible that almost all Fujian Niltava show ( at least on the all set of pics of this sp on OBI), where no one Rufous-bellied show it.
An other good feature to separate this two species is the proportion between head and body, Fujian to me show a small head compare to the size of the body given an impression of not well structured bird compare to Rufous-bellied that looks better proportioned.
The shoulder patch and the contrast between undertail coverts, vent,belly and breast seems to be very variable between each individuals.
To me this bird is a Rufous-bellied.

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

I'm not sure that the subspecies wintering in Thailand is the one that could occur in HK in winter, so to me this comparaison is not the most appropriate. The subspecies denotata breeding in NW Hunan, seems to be much shorter tail than the one in Thailand.
I'm still pretty convinced that the King's Park bird is a Rufous-bellied Niltava.
- on structure, the bird looks very bulky with a large head
- the bill looks rather short
- the rufous on breast seems very deep, more solid and uniform than on Fujian
- entire black bill, I doubt that the pale area shown by Fujian Niltava at the base of the lower mandible disapear so quickly, after its 1st year, that sounds pretty odd to me, but I agree than in some birds it is'nt so obvious, so it is very likely that this paler area is reducing with the age, but on most birds I've seen including some adults, there was always something can be seen....

I found really difficult to appreciate the extent of the iridescence on crown, as well as the plumage color on upperparts, it vary a lot depending on light, pictures conditions, bird position....
To me the best way to sperate them in the field is on structure, but I'm also happy to be corrected and agree that sometime they are really difficult to tell appart.

All the best,

Jonathan