I sent email with idea re the mynah being among batch of birds released at temple, inc Chris Patten releasing birds in 1997, to HK Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; obviously too brief in email, as just received:
to which I’ve replied: I hadn’t meant the mynah was released in 1997! That was just to show that bird releases can take place at the temple. I meant, instead, the mynah was maybe released there during this Chinese New Year. (At Wong Tai Sin temple or nearby). If so, the mynah was not a wild bird, but was captive. The magpie robins maybe also captive (for fighting?) – have they been examined for signs of this? Captivity/trade a far more likely means of these birds becoming infected with H5N1 than any contact with wild ducks (where to find these in HK outside Deep Bay? – not easy) For instance, in Shenzhen I’ve been to market where they had both poultry/farm animals, and wild animals inc birds. This species is commonly sold in markets in s China:
Wild Animal Trade Monitoring Selected Markets Guangzhou Shenzhen (pdf file)