hi zep,

can you please help me identify this bird.
he/she has the most distinguished bird call on lamma and has been very active since early spring. the bird expert at kadories said it is called a "chinese blue francolin" but i am unable to find such a bird in any of the h.k. bird books or web sites so far???
it calls five times to the tune of (and it is also known by this name according to some old hong kong timers): "come to the peak ha haaa"
it is a pheasant of sorts. it pearches on a rock or in the bush and calls for hours on end. especially in the early mornings and late afternoons."phew/phew, phew, phew, phewwww" the last call is the longest.
i have finally managed to spot it twice but only from a distance with binoculars
sadly. it looks like a perrier bottle! any clues?
many thanks for your time and service.

bobsy

It must be a Chinese Francolin (I don''t know where the "blue" came from). The bird is, I think, resident all the year round, but only start to sing around early May for the summer season. It looks rather like a partridge only bigger and brighter.

The "come to the peak ha ha" I think originated with Professor Herklots, one of the early professors at HKU who was also a keen birdwatcher. I prefer to think of the sound as "cock a doodle do" as attempted by a goose. It is certainly one of the most evocative sounds of the early summer mornings on Lamma hillsides:

Pak Kok Saan, sunrise.
In the stillness, a harsh cry.
The francolin calls...

Oops, I've started doing it now. Those haiku are very infectious.

The bird is illustrated in the HK bird book - I'm still on the road, grabbing internet cafes where I can, so will check the references on my return to HK, or there may be some pics on the HKBWS site.

Incidentally, here in south-west France - a rural corner of Haute Garonne - the bird life is spectacular - hoopoes, golden orioles, lots of jays, various woodpeckers, black redstart, honey buzzards etc. There is a good mix of farmland and well preserved oak forest, emphasising again the need for a mature native forest to support a fully developed fauna.

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Hey Zep pal wunderin if yae can help mae oot. I found a strange lookin creature crawlin oot ma hair. It is different fae any lice a huv seen before. It’s got twa heids un 20 legs it maks a clickin noise, click click click, sound lik it is sayin tae mae go tae lamma, go tae lamma.

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Dilutin thur durty gene pool

This is a most fascinating record - it is undoubtedly the Bifurcated Caledonian Bandersnatch (Dicephalus pubis). This is a rare arthropod but greatly feared because of its nasty bite. This not only produces an irritating itch but also causes the victim's face to turn blue and hebephrenic fits of incomprehensible raving.

The animal is an ectoparasite on the human pubic area, and has previously only been recorded from ladies of ill-repute operating in the Leith docklands area. So the question of how it arrived in the region of JMC's head is a question not only of scientific interest but considerable epidemiological significance.

News of your intention to come to Lamma has been forwarded to the Immigration and Quarantine departments.

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Thanks Zep so the wee fellae willnae dae me ony hearm, a quite like tha blu colair oan ma face and a huv awais bein prone tae rabid outbursts. I think ah must goat him whin a stuck ma heid up an auld whoares skirt. I will be arrivin oan Lamma soon ah huv goat a wee bit delayed cause a goat a cheap flight via Bagdad totally radge here, utter chaos. Tryin tae help thim find Saddam 25 million fir grabs, nae bad get mae a nice wee pad oan Lamma.

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Dilutin thur durty gene pool

The coast guards have been alerted

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Zep much appreciated but dinnae go tae any trouble wi ma arrival. Am no really intae fanfares, like tae keep things low key ye ken. If a dinnae hae enough money fir the ferry ah will jist swim tae Lamma, dinnae bother the coastgerd boys. Yer pictures oh the trees in Scoatland wer braw. Am lookin foward tae the culturel exchange wi the locals. Them cantonese huv alot in common wi us scoats. Just lik the northernern chinese wi the Inglish, whae ur baith a bunch poofters whae speak funny accents. Major upside doon paralels there ye ken!

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Dilutin thur durty gene pool

No, no we insist. It's the least we can do to welcome you as you swim to Lamma. The coast guards will be out in force with a full 21-gun salute.

You'll probably notice that they point the guns towards the water rather than the sky - don't worry about that at all - they just do things differently in China

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<img src="http://www.lamma.com.hk/forum/images/e-zine/24/Chinese-francolin.jpg" border=1 align=left hspace=10>Er, wasn't this about Chinese Francolins? Here are a couple of pics - the first is lurking on a postage stamp from Vietnam.

The second is taken from a Thai website - all in Thai so don't know who the photographer is:

<img src="http://www.lamma.com.hk/forum/images/e-zine/24/cf2.jpg" border=1 align=right>

Dr. Arch Taolanon.

Thanks Alan - I'm not sure what our policy is on using images copied from other sites. If I do use one for a non-commercial purpose such as this I do at least like to credit the author

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Zep yer know Inglish by ony chance.

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Dilutin thur durty gene pool

I don't know what "our" policy is, but I don't think anyone is harmed by it, which is the major test in assessing damages in copyright cases. In this specific case, the site was put up to spread knowledge, not to sell it. I don't personally worry about it much on web sites, even less so on BBs. If I was publishing a book or using it on a T shirt I would seek permission.

Alan "Thunderbird" Tracy is right on target here.
Our policy is simple:

Copy anything you like from other public websites, but please credit the photographer/artist, including any copyright info, if it's there. A link back to the source site would be nice, but optional.

As we're a non-profit community message board, just for fun, not selling anything, no legal problems are expected, as we're not causing damages to any copyright holders.

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Another sign that the warm weather is on the way - the first Chinese Francolins of the season have started strutting their stuff again. You can hear their creaky calls on the hillsides, and occasionally see them perched out on a bare rock.

Here's another picture of a stuffed specimen (no I didn't do it!)

<img src="http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma/29/Francolin-cf1.jpg" border=1>