A good morning in Ng Tung Chai, with five more birds for the patch year list after a very quiet start to the year. First up was an unusually confiding
Lesser Shortwing - coming out to sing in full view at very close range, and a
Blyth's-type Leaf Warbler singing oddly and not wing-flapping in the tree above. I only had my digicam video to record it. It
here on Youtube. NB the bird is invisible - ignore the Lesser Shortwing and Rufous-capped Babbler. Any thoughts much appreciated.
Other good birds on the way up included a male
Yellow-cheeked Tit, a singing Rufous-tailed Robin, an equally vocal
Eastern Crowned Warbler (86), my first
Blue Whistling Thrush(87) for a good long while, a typically curious
Black-throated Laughingthrush (of the dark-cheeked colour morph) and heralding the beginning of the peak migration season, a
Ferruginous Flycatcher(88) at the junction of the paths just above the temple.
One more of the five other singing Lesser Shortwings showed well, while at least four
Montain Tailorbirds also showed themselves and a pair of
Great Barbets were in fine voice from somewhere near the ridgeline.
On the descent a
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta(89) rattled from cover and at the edge of the village a pair of
Orange-bellied Leafbirds(90) were collecting nesting material.
Cheers
Mike