John Holmes

Have we considered the possibility of Buff-bellied Flowerpecker ?  

The belly here is very buff-coloured and Tai Po Kau is a good site for Buff-bellied, as well as for Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker.

I have little experience of Plain Flowerpecker, and I'm not qualified to add anything to what is written in "The Birds of Hong Kong and South China".  (I'm assuming you have the book.)

According to Robson's "Birds of South-East Asia" PLAIN has "Greenish-olive upperside, pale olive-greyish underside, cream-coloured belly centre and sometimes throat..."

Do you have any other shots of this bird ?

John

John Holmes

Yes, I think it is Buff-bellied Flowerpecker, a female.

Older Hong Kong bird books (and Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 13) call this species FIRE-BREASTED Flowerpecker, which is a much more exciting name !