The fork-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga christinae) is a very small bird, 6-9cm only, that have a frequent “zwinkzwink” call and a metallic trill. Residents of Hong Kong, they are common and wide spread. They breed between April and June, eventually forming a ball of grass into a nest up in the trees.
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Here is the female below, no less lovely but olive and yellow, without his splendour. She. is hanging on to a hibiscus bush at `Lions park in Saikung, but sad to say this whole row of shrubs and habitat has been needlessly torn out.
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Here are some more pics of this lovely bird.
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Here a flash of yellow, emerald, and red caught my eye on one of the lower roads in Kadoorie Farm.
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Knowing that sunbirds feed on the hibiscus plants along the path, i sat and waited patiently, shooting into the sun in dark shadows, for the shot of the male above.
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He was shortly joined by the female, no less lovely but olive and yellow, without his splendour.
To see them, look in the tops of shrubs and trees. The best places i have found include the Pavilions at the top of Kadoorie Farm (especially in February); outside the Mathilda hospital, looking over the sea, on the Peak; and in Lion's park in Sai Kung.
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