A VIP Thrush

Some images of a Black-breasted Thrush spotted on November 14th at the Botanical Gardens, among a flock of Japanese. This is a regular winter visitor in Hanoi, I usually see 1 or 2 a year.

There is no doubt, winter is definitely here...

Hanoi gets pretty cold in winter. If you are planning to go there from December to March, bring a good jacket…

Slaty-backed Flycatcher : 1st record for Vietnam?

HANOI : Yesterday (21th January), a noon stroll at the Botanical Gardens produced a good number of winterers : 1 Taiga, 1 female Rufous-gorgeted, 2-3 Asian Brown and 1 male Slaty-backed Flycatchers, 5 Japanese and 1 male Black-breasted Thrushes, 1 female Chinese Blackbird, 1 Blue Whistling Thrush, some Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers (heard), Yellow-browed and Dusky Warblers, 2 Red-Flanked Bluetails, small flocks of Olive-backed Pipits.

The highlight was this male Slaty-backed Flycatcher. When I put my bins on it, I knew immediately that it was a new species for me. Its uniform slaty upperparts, orange underparts and white tail base made it unmistakable.
Unfortunately, I just got some distant and rubbish shots :(

 

Without flash

With flash

In the 2009 edition of Robson this species is recorded as winter visitor in both Laos and Cambodia, but not in Vietnam. No reason why it couldn't turn up in northern Vietnam too !

female Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher

Christmas Gift

Finally managed to pick up a (male) Black-breasted Thrush in the Botanical Gardens, what a little stunner!

A perfect Christmas gift for an urban birder!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and good birding to you all!

Black-breasted Thrush male adult

Video made Tuesday 16th November at the Botanical Garden.

Please have a look at the last post of Simon (yesterday) , I sent many pictures there.

Some great thrushes in the botanical gardens

This morning there were at least 20 thrushes in the botanical gardens. Since I was in a rush I concentrated on identifying the easy ones:
Japanese Thrush adult male 3
Japanese Thrush adult female 2
Japanese Thrush 1st winter male 4
Black-breasted Thrush adult female 1
Chinese Blackbird 2 (male and female)

I left all the 1st winter females....

Florian then visited shortly afterwards and found an adult male Black-breasted Thrush!

Simon

• At noon there, I saw also :

Grey-backed Thrush female adult 1
Grey-backed Thrush 1st winter 1-2
Eyebrowed Thrush male adult 1
Siberian Thrush 1 (without tail !)
Orange-headed Thrush 1
Rufous-tailed Robin 1

Videos will follow !

Sebastien

Eyebrowed Thrush male (the shiest of all the Thrushes there)

Siberian Thrush... with a little problem

Grey-backed Thrush female. Compared to the Black-breasted female : brownish bill, slightly marked on breast, paler brown-olive tinged upperparts (Robson).

Grey-backed Thrush female (in the background/no spots on the rufous flanks, slight streeks on breast) and - I suppose - a Grey-backed Thrush 1st winter

This supposed Grey-backed Thrush 1st winter : flanks largely orange with spots, heavily marked on breast than adult female.

Black-breasted Thrush male adult