Fire-capped Tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps 火冠雀
Category I. Accidental.
IDENTIFICATION
Jan. 2019, John and Jemi Holmes. Female/immature.
8.5-9.5 cm. Similar to Chinese Penduline Tit in its small size and fine, conical bill. Short-tailed and rather rotund, with a prominent orbital ring, yellowish wing-bars, median coverts, rump and edges to tertials. Plain face, greyish underparts with a yellowish wash to the lower chest and belly.
The male in breeding plumage has a fiery forecrown and throat and golden yellow chest.
VOCALISATIONS
A variety of high-pitched notes and trills are uttered, some abruptly curtailed, others more prolonged (e.g., ‘see-see-see’, ‘seeee’, ‘srrrr’, ‘see-see-srrr’), but also rather sparrow-like (though much quieter) ‘chirrup’ utterances.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Occurs from north Pakistan through the Himalayas to Bhutan, northeast India, southwest and south-central China. There are non-breeding season records from north and northeast India, east Myanmar and northern Thailand (Madge 2020) indicating it is a medium-distance migrant. In China it breeds in southeast Tibet, Yunnan and western Guangxi and Guizhou northeast through Sichuan to southern Shanxi and western Henan (Liu and Chen 2020).
C. f. olivaceus occurs in the eastern Himalayas to south central and south China, and presumably HK. The nominate subspecies occurs in west and central Himalayas.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
It has occurred in evergreen broadleaf secondary forest at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.
OCCURRENCE
The two records could relate to the same individual as it was foraging in the same tree.
2019: a female at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) from 25 January to 8 February (Wong 2023).
2020: a female at KFBG on 22 January, possibly the same as the previous year.
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
The bird in 2019 foraged in a rather agile manner on peach blossom flowers. It appears to have returned the following year to feed in the same tree.
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend unknown.
Madge, S. (2020). Fire-capped Tit (Cephalopyrus flammiceps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.fictit1.01
Liu, Y. and Y. H. Chen (eds) (2020). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House.
Wong, K. W. M. (2023). Fire-capped Tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps at KFBG: the first Hong Kong record. Hong Kong Bird Report 2019: 247-250.
