sdavid

I saw a male Russet Sparrow at the peak of Yuk Kwai Shan on Ap Lei Chau today and was wondering if it coud be considered a genuine wild bird or if it would more likely be an escape?

From consulting the Avifauna of HK, the records of autumn passage birds have occured between 8 Sept and 3 Oct.  This sighting would therefore be just 2 weeks out?  

I didnt see any obvious damage to the tail feathers that occur with caged birds, but if I'm perfectly honest, I didn't specifically check these.  The bird appeared in good condition, though the 'obvious' white eyebrow wasn't that obvious.

It was calling regularly from prominent perches - would this indicate a former cage bird?  Also, it was close to a shelter/pavillion, which may point towards it being an escaped bird ie if its owner had carried it all the way up the hill maybe?

Anyway, I was curious really to see any other views on this considering there are relatively few records shown in the Avifauna in recent years.

Ta

Dave

sdavid

Cheers Mike

I thought as much, due to the nature of site and past HK records, but you still think, well maybe!

Very nice to see though.

Dave