John Holmes

Mystery Heron in nullah beside Kam Pok Road, near Foon Hei Lau, Castle peak road (錦壆路，近青山公路的歡喜樓（酒家）)

November 19, 2009

Many thanks to Paul Leader and Mike Leven for news of this mystery Heron.
A few shots taken with 1dm2n + 800mm + 1.4x























[ Last edited by John Holmes at 19/11/2009 12:37 ]

lkatherine

Looks like the "Squacco Heron" in the Europe bird guide, or it's a strange Chinese Pond Heron?

[ Last edited by lkatherine at 19/11/2009 13:04 ]

lmichael

Having reviewed the photos and compared with photos of Squacco Heron (and Indian and Chinese Pond Heron I am fairly sure that this is just a leucistic Chinese Pond Heron unfortunately.

I cannot find any plumage of Squacco Heron (or the other Pond Herons) where the streaking on the underparts is diffuse and buffy. On Squacco Heron the streaking is limited in extent (usually not in the centre of the breast) and quite narrow but nonetheless very well-defined on sides of breast, neck and crown.

Mike Leven

cmichaell

Agree with Mike Leven. The extent of the darker wing tips, which can be seen in the flight pics, is also right for Chinese Pond Heron. Javan and Indian Pond Herons, the other main contenders, as well as Squacco, have virtually no darker tips and are thus eliminated.

Mike Chalmers