Bulletin 343 - China 2019 #1 - Old World flycatchers, sunbirds, primate

I had a brief trip to SW China and managed a few days birding. I was particularly interested in 2 critically endangered primates there, as well as a new bird species discovered about a decade ago.

Old World flycatchers are a very large family (328 species). So wherever you go in Eurasia or Africa you will encounter several species. 

Most of the ones I photographed were partly or completely blue colored. The 6" male Hainan Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis hainanus) is all blue with a white belly. The female is brown.

Hainan Blue Flycatcher - male

The 8" male Large Niltava (Niltava grandis) is blue above and charcoal below.

Large Niltava - male

The 7" male White-tailed Robin (Myiomela leucura) is all dark blue with white outer tail feathers and it has white spots on neck that the guide book says are usually concealed. My photo shows the white spot!

White-tailed Robin - male

The 7" male Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) appeared in the fog to be all light blue like our Mountain Bluebird. However, the guide book describes it as greenish-blue.

Verditer Flycatcher - male

The 6" male Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus) is bluish above, white below and reddish orange flanks.

Red-flanked Bluetail - male

 Sunbirds are small nectar feeding songbirds that occupy the same ecological niche as hummingbirds. The males are brightly colored and the females are dull olive. The 4" male Fork-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga christinae) has an olive back, black face, turquoise tail with 2 long projections and a purple throat.

Fork-tailed Sunbird - male

The amazing 5" Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) has a red head, throat. and upper back. Interestingly, it has a huge range from western India to Sulawesi. There are many subspecies, and one has been split already (Philippines) and the remaining complex may consist of 3 different species.

Crimson Sunbird - male

There are more than 20 species of primates in China, with most concentrated in southwestern China along the border of Vietnam, Laos and Burma. I was hoping to see a couple of them as they are among the rarest primates in the world.

I saw only the White-headed Langur (Tachypithecus poliocephalus). This medium sized monkey is black with a white head. The long tail is white as well. Infants are golden colored. Adults weigh up to 22 pounds. Wikipedia says this is the rarest primate in Asia, with remnant populations in southern Guangxi province of China and on Cat Ba Island off Vietnam. It is estimated that there are less then 70 of this species in the world and I saw a group of 8 of them!

Here is an adult.

White-headed Langur - adult
Guangxi China

And another

White-headed Langur - adult
Guangxi China

Here is a juvenile, molting from the golden color.

White-headed Langur - juvenile
Guangxi China

What a treat to see such a rare animal up close.



I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 36 of the 328 species of  Old World flycatchers

I have photos of 11 of the 145 species of sunbirds

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2019 David McDonald

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