Bornean Endemic Oct 2022 - Mountain Black-eye (Lifer 554/688)

 This was our third visit  to the 2000m asl port in Gunung Alab forest Reserve during our trip. We were glad that we have two session of shooting of this tiny passerine in a bird wave of Mountain Warbler and Bornean Whistler. The condition then was wet and misty against the glaring opaque white sky. You have to  plus +2 exposure compensation. So plenty of post editing. I shoot only in Jpeg so to recover details a bit lacking.

We were fortunate that there were a few trees that were fruiting there that attracted the birds to feed on. This is in mid October as a record. The rainy season came early this year 2022 which bring some good misty condition The local birders says if it is not misty you will encounter less birds. Next time we will hunt for the Bare-headed Laughingthrush  here  as we only heard it call-in KNP Ranau side but did not show. 

The mountain blackeye, sometimes referred to as the olive blackeye or simply black-eye, is a species of passerine bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the highest mountains on the island of Borneo. It is known from both Malaysian states on the island, and four of the five Indonesian provinces, but has never been recorded in Brunei. Typically found at elevations above 1,800 m, the mountain blackeye sometimes moves to lower altitudes during periods of drought. There are four subspecies, which show clinal variations in size and coloring. Birds in the north are largest, darkest, and proportionately longer-tailed, while those further south are smaller, paler, and proportionately shorter-tailed. Adults are dark olive-green with a sharply-pointed, bright yellow-orange bill and a small dark mask connecting black lores with a black eye-ring. The subspecies show varying amounts of yellow in their plumage, particularly on the face and underparts. Young birds resemble their parents, but have less brightly colored bills. It feeds on insects, nectar, pollen, and small fruits, and is a major pollinator of several species of Rhododendron. It is also a minor partner in a symbiotic relationship with the pitcher-plant Nepenthes lowii. Little is known about its breeding ecology. Its nest is a shallow cup made of rootlets and lined with bits of moss. The female lays a single egg, and the nestling takes 14–15 days to fledge after hatching. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as a species of least concern. Although its population has not been quantified, it is very common across much of its range.