Welcome to my Malaysian Birding Blog. My blog showcases my legacy of sightings of Malaysian bird in my lifetime - the countdown to 688 species and beyond. Actual numbers of birds you can see in Malaysia is more than 850 and adding.
Monday, 26 August 2013
Pond-heron WADER 15/60 - Chinese Pond Heron (1/3)
Chinese Pond Heron
There are 3 species of Pond herons that could be sighted in Malaysia namely:-
Indian Pond Heron - This is a bird found in Iran, Afghanistan an the Indian sub-continent Vagrant in Malaysia
Chinese Pond Heron - It is a bird of India, China and wintering in the south. This is the most common Pond Heron you can see in Malaysia.
Javan Pond Heron - Resident in Java, Bali, Borneo and Philippines - vagrant in Malaysia.
All the 3 birds are identical in size - 45 cm having almost identical features albeit some very minor differences. Very difficult to tell them apart in their normal non-breeding plumages when visiting Malaysia. When they take flight the underside of the wings and tail is white. Pond herons are most likely seen in open areas with pools of waters, e.g. sewage ponds, fish ponds and padi fields. They could also be among the low trees by the river and in mudflats.
The only way to ID them is when they are in breeding plumage as the pictures below would show during the tail end of their stay in Feb-April.
No comments:
Post a Comment