brendank

21 October 2012 - She Shan

Jonathmartinez

why not a Black-browed?

brendank

Koel, Aaron and I thought that this a Manchurian because:

1. Eyebrow thinly defined and strongest anterior to the eye
2. Pale tint to irides.
3. Proportionally long bill and tail
4. Short primary projection (Koel has a photo showing this more clearly I believe)

Not completely sure of the ID and welcome comments.

Jonathmartinez

Well all of you have seen the birds and I don't and the pictures aren't that good, so I won't be affirmative on what it is and let others more experimented than me give their opinion on this bird.
Below are the reason why I've suggest Black-browed Reed Warbler :
- the lower mandible should looks entirely pale pinkish, and as far as it can be seen on the picture it seems to not be the case in this birds
- the colors of the upperpart appears quite cold brown where it should be more warm, ginger color to use the term mention by Paul Leader during the last bird banding session in Mai Po. But I know that light condition can affect a lot the real colors of the birds in the picture, so have to be cautionous with this argument.

- then it's difficult to judge from the pictures the bird shape and others features that you've notice in the field and that I haven't seen.

All the best,

Jonathan

Jonathmartinez

Paddyfield? :-)

sdavid

Looks like black-browed to me.

kkoel

A few more photos to aid identification, all of the same bird:







As Brendan mentioned, we are quite confident that the short primary projection, long narrow tail, ill-defined black streak above supercilium, and long fine bill are more indicative of Manchurian Reed Warbler than other related species. We'll be happy to be corrected by more experienced birders. =)

[ Last edited by kkoel at 21/10/2012 19:58 ]

Jonathmartinez

OOOhhh, if it is really the same bird than Brendan's pics, and I do believe it is, then it is a good example how light conditions and quality of pictures may induce in error.
On this one I fully agree that it looks pretty good for Manchurian Reed Warbler.

All the best,

Jonathan

sdavid

Just goes show how deceptive light conditions can be. This second series of shots really make a difference! What a good find!

gary

That's why it is always difficult to make species ID by single photo.

Second photo from Brandon shows very broad black brow (lateral crown stripe) which make me think of Black-browed Reed. But latter set by Koel shows thinner brow. Together with short and tapered supercilium behind eye and very thin eye strip, I think it is Manchurian now.

Gary

Jonathmartinez

also the bill shape and colors look totally different between the two set of pictures. Really a good lesson on how cautionous pictures have to be looked. Well done and great find.

All the best,

Jonathan

kmike

Manchurian Reed Warbler is a terrific find, and a great addition to the Lam Tsuen list- especially considering that there were no records of any accrocephalus warblers in Lam Tsuen, until 2009. Now there are four species (if you include yesterday's Thick-billed Warbler, which has also been proposed in two other genera). All of these have been seen along the channellized river between She Shan and Kau Liu Ha in the last week!

Cheers,
Mike K

brendank

Admittedly the color tone is different is colder in my photos. But I would say structure especially the bill is consistent in both photo sets and I thought brow pattern was relatively clear in my third picture.