wgeoff

Here are two larger photos of this Frigatebird.




As you can see, the bird does have white spurs going under the wing although they do not show well on Cherry's longer range photos. The white belly patch extends to beyond the legs although it is not obviously pointed.

According to the diagrams on page 136 of the HKBWS 1998 Bird Report, this is more like a Christmas Island Frigatebird as suggested by Tung.

wgeoff

Always willing to oblige.

Here are 4 sequential photos of an aerial battle between this bird and a Black Kite.
The Black Kite started it but the Frigatebird easily out-manouevered it and the Kite finished up at the business end of a rather vicious looking beak.




To get back to the subject of identification.

I originally identified this bird as a Lesser because of size (slightly longer wing-span than Black Kite) and the white spurs. However, Tung's comment led me to look at the Frigatebird Id Guide by Mike Chalmers in the 1998 HKBWS Annual Report and the diagrams of the white belly patches on page 136 do indicate this could be a Christmas Island. According to this, the breast band on a Lesser should be narrower and the white patch should end before the legs, not after. I don't have the Birding Asia reference.

However, having compared the white patch on this bird with the previous two frigatebirds I have seen on Po Toi, which were both accepted as Lesser, they are very similar. All have a broad breast band and the white patch finishes between the legs on them all. Since I don't think they are all Christmas Island, I will stay with my original identification of Lesser Frigatebird for this one and all the previous birds, unless someone tells me otherwise.

[ Last edited by wgeoff at 24/04/2009 06:19 ]