Long Valley 28 Sep 2019 - Red-backed Shrike

Heard the news of a Red-backed Shrike in LV so we tried in afternoon though it is mot my HK tick nor lifer. The shrike was found shortly after arrival, and got great view. Studying bird ID is my favorite and probably I am going to write a post about the Red-backed shrike.

Other migrants were slow, only Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Oriental Reed Warbler and Plaintive Cuckoo worth mentioning (well also an escaped White-headed Munia) before I got the news of a Pale-footed Bush Warbler in Kowloon at 5pm. Can I trade the Red-backed Shrike with a HK tick lol....

2019 HK big year is 257 and the full list here: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60168989

Red-backed Shrike - shrikes are wire lover, note the whitish belly and small bill. Also the browner ear coverts than Brown Shrike

Red-backed Shrike - the back. For the first winter Red-backed Shrike you can see black subterminal band on tertials, greater coverts and scaling upperparts, a bit different from Brown Shrike. The long primary projection is not easy to be seen in this photo.

Red-backed Shrike - other key features comparative to Brown Shrike are more whitish short supercilium, white fringes on undertail (more prominent on outer two feathers) and the tail is more square-ended

Red-backed Shrike - the whole jizz is also more compacted than Brown.