wgeoff

This bird was photographed on Po Toi yesterday.



I think it is a Bright-capped Cisticola and the lemon-yellow underparts are indicative of a juvenile, according to Craig Robson 'Birds of SE Asia'.

If so, given it was in an area where adult birds were present until May of this year, I think it indicates successful breeding of the species on Po Toi this year.

ajohn

Juvenile Bright-capped Cisticolas have been turning up during late summer in the NT for a few years. It's still a bit unclear whether these are breeding birds or are very early migrants from another breeding location (presumably fairly nearby). The complication basically is that there are still no cases where birds have been recorded through the summer - they all seem to disappear completely in April/May. If breeding occurs at these sites, either birds become extremely secretive during breeding or are being overlooked due to the lack of observer coverage. An interesting record for Po Toi.

ddavid

The three Bright-capped Cisticolas I saw at She Shan on August 29th were juveniles - similar to the Po Toi birds with yellowish underparts.

There were no records at the same site during the summer as far as I know - and I visited the site on a few occasions - but they may have bred higher up in the hills bordering the Lam Tsuen Valley. Or they could be birds dispersing from over the border ... As John sugggests, it's difficult to know quite what the status of this species is at the present time - although clearly it's a lot commoner than in the 1990s.

I guess Geoff will just have to spend all of next summer on Po Toi to discover the truth!!!

dave

wgeoff

Nice idea Dave, but last week was hot enough - no more of that thanks.

I think I'll leave it as a mystery for you NT boys to solve.

ddavid

Fair enough!!!

Good birding in the next few weeks.....

You might even see me out there!!

dave