GROUND BIRD - Great Argus (Lifer 576/688)

 

Most of the time you can only hear them calling in a distance, deep in the jungle. If you do want to spend much money to see this rarity bird in the wild, you can visit the Penang Bird Park which they may have one in captivity now. 

Here in Telupid Hide, we encounter the birds in the late morning 10.30am and late afternoon after 3pm. They are marauders in search of fruiting trees; and some says they will follow primates or other mammals, canopy birds  which feed on fruits in the canopy and they will eat the fruits that are discarded by them. 

In October we cannot expect to  see the mating ritual of large male  pheasant. They are monogamous and paired for life unless one of the mate die. If you want to see their mating dance you have to go in April-August. The male clears an open spot in the forest and prepares a dancing ground. He announces himself with loud calls to attract females, then he dances before her with his wings spread into two enormous fans, revealing hundreds of "eyes" while his real eyes are hidden behind it, staring while the hundreds eyes hypnotizing her.

There are two subspecies recognized: Nominate argus of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, and A. a. grayi of Borneo. William Beebe considered the two races to be distinct species, but they have since been lumped.

The great argus is a brown-plumaged pheasant with a blue head and neck, rufous red upper breast, black hair-like feathers on the crown and nape, and red legs, Unusual among Galliformes, the great argus has no uropygial gland. 

The male is one of the largest of all pheasants, measuring 160–200 cm (63–79 in) in total length, including a tail of 105–143 cm (41–56 in), and weighing 2.04–2.72 kg (4.5–6.0 lb).  Males have very long tail feathers and huge, broad and greatly elongated secondary wing feathers decorated with large eyespots. Young males develop their adult plumage in their third year. Our photo of the male is missing its extension speckled  long tail.

Females are smaller and duller than males, with shorter tails and fewer eyespots. They measure 72–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length, including a tail of 30–36 cm (12–14 in), and weighs 1.59–1.7 kg (3.5–3.7 lb).

You may like to know there is another Argus you can see in Peninsula - the Crested Argus which is even longer at 190- 239 cm compared to the Great Argus which is 160-200 cm in length. Maybe because of the longer tail. The Crested was once sighted in Kuala Tahan  in June 2020 ie it is a submontane bird  whilst Great Argus is at lowland upto 900m.

DUCK 12/15 - Sunda Teal (Lifer 573/688)

 This is a medium size duck of upto 43cm; I always thought teal is small in size like grebe. The Sunda teal (Anas gibberifrons), also known as the Bebek cokelat or Itik benjut, is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Indonesia. The species formerly included the Andaman teal Anas albogularis and the grey teal, Anas gracilis as subspecies, but is currently considered monotypic. 

Subki mentioned that they are breeding now in Tawau port; but he is afraid soon the abandoned fish ponds will reactivated and the manmade habitat may be disturbed. In the evening I only got to shoot a single duck. The following morning the duck was missing from the pond

By the way the Sunda Teal was not mentioned in my bird bible (CraigRobson) as a Malaysia bird.....

It is a dull, brown duck with ruby-red eyes. Also note rounded forehead with noticeable bulge and bright green-and-white wing patches. Found in freshwater, brackish, and occasionally marine habitats, forages primarily by dabbling. Typically moves in pairs or small groups.

DUCK 13/15 - Wandering Whistling Duck (Lifer 572/688) April 2023

In peninsula Malaysia we usually see the Lesser Whistling Duck but in Sabah waters the Wandering Whistling is easily seen at watersheds like flood retention pond, housing estate lakes and abandoned fish ponds. It is fortunate that there are not hunted by the town folks and they still propagate in abundance in man made habitat. 

Breeding occurs during the tropical wet season usually between December and May. During this time six to fifteen eggs are laid in a nest not far from water and usually in high grass or a sheltered area.

Formerly named tree ducks, the wandering whistling duck has its new name because of their loud whistling calls and the whistling noise their wings make during flight. They have long necks and legs and look like a cross between a goose and a duck. They have a strong head and neck with a darker crown and hindneck. The breast contains black spotting and the feathers are mostly dark brown. They range in size from 54–60 cm in height and weigh on average 750 grams. They mainly feed on grasses, waterlilies, water plants and occasionally insects and aquatic vertebrae.

PITTA 9/12 - Blue Banded Pitta (Lifer 571/688) Borneo Endemic

I extended 3 weekdays to my diving trip to Tawau -Semporna  with Subki. Unfortunately he is a working teacher in a Chinese school and can only spare me his guiding in the afternoon. He has created a nice port (abate without a shelter against the rain) for this special pitta. I would agree with you if you say that this is the most elegant and beautiful pitta in Malaysia. The RM300 fees to see this bird is worthy won't you agree.

This was my target bird in Tawau; you guys should not miss. Usually you have to go to Maliau Basin about 6-7 hours out from Tawau.   The bird is most active in the morning. In my encounter it came out only twice but stayed a while until the bloody squirrel came  and the pitta scuttered down the ravine in a hurry.  Apparently there is a pair of them there but only one of them come out at a time I think.....meaning they are breeding I would not know. So if you are lucky you may see a family of the pitta coming out to feed in the coming May. After that the bird would probably move on as pittas are known to be nomadic. 

This colourful bird has a black head with a yellow/orange streak above the eye, an orange-red nape, a brown throat, a chest barred with orange and dark blue (more orange towards the sides and more blue towards the centre), and a blue belly. The back is brown and the tail is blue.

Size wise its about 16-17  cm slightly the size of the Garnet. 

The Malayan banded pitta is native to tropical south-eastern Asia where its range includes Malaysia, Thailand and Sumatra. It typically inhabits primary lowland evergreen forests, including swamp forests, but can occur at altitudes of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It also occurs in secondary forest, but may not persist well in this environment. Its diet is mainly insects and fruits

I would rather call it Blue-necklaced Pitta as the blue band is more speckled and patchy. 

Other birds that I  missed  in Tawau is the Rufous-tailed Sharma, White-fronted Falconet, Jerdon's Baza

Jungle Flycatcher 5/5 - Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Lifer 570/688)

Yes I can close the chapter on Jungle Flycatchers (5 species) of Malaysia. This is a resident bird of Borneo Sabah and more a Sulawesi descent. It is a highland flycatcher where else the Grey-chested Fc is a lowland bird in Malaysia. It is also called Crocker Jungle Fc,

 There is not much writing of this bird. It is almost similar looking as the Grey-chested but smaller at 18cm

Owl 8/16 February 2023 (Lifer 568/668) - Brown Fish Owl

This owl is a resident at Gunung Keriang near Jitra Kedah. This was my 4th attempt to see this bird. The MO to get it is to hunt it in the day while it roost amongst horizontal branch of the many tall trees before the Muslim cemetery. Alternatively you can  wait before dawn for it to return to roost and that is the best chance to spot the bird and  photograph it. 

The brown fish owl has prominent ear tufts and rufous brown upperparts that are heavily streaked with black or dark brown. Its underparts are buffy-fulvous to whitish, with wavy dark brown streaks and finer brown barring. Its throat is white and conspicuously puffed. Its facial disk is indistinct, the bill dark and the iris are  yellow. Its featherless feet are yellow. Two-year old brown fish owls are somewhat paler than adults. Female and male differ slightly in size.

 The calls of the buffy fish owl are described as a deep humming boom-uh-boom, a hup hup hu and a loud huhuhuhuhuhuhu.

The brown fish owl is more terrestrial than the fish eagle and consumes more invertebrates than either of those species, the eagle feeding mainly on fish followed by water birds and the eagle owl feeding mainly on mammals followed by land birds. If hungry, brown fish owls will scavenge carrion, a rare behavior for owls. 

Crake (5/7) Jan 2023 - Slaty-legged Crake Lifer 2023 (567/688)

This will be my first lifer for the year 2023 as we Chinese usher the Chinese New year of the Rabbit. I hope to see more lifers and the next target is the Pied Avocet that has arrived in Seberang Perai Penang. Thank Q BnC.

My catch was in Taman Botani Shah Alam which this bird regularly appear during the migration period Nov-Mar. Missed it 2 years back when it sighted in March. Then in Ayer Hitam Penang  and Penang Isle. I did not take the effort to go then. I missed it though in Fraser years back as it was on  transit  back to northern hemisphere.

Slaty-legged crakes are territorial, but are quite secretive, hiding in bushes when disturbed. They probe with their bill in mud or shallow water, also picking up food by sight. They forage for berries and insects on the ground, or clambering through bushes and undergrowth. Here in TBSA the bird was not scared by the 20 odd bird photogs at the port setup and come out as near as 25 feet of us.  I was shooting at 1/15s-1/30s at iso 3200 with my Fuji XT-2. It was tough getting it in focus in the low light condition in the early morning. KC Che with his Nikon D500 encounter similar situation. We stayed until we got some decent photos before we walk to other areas to look for the Golden fronted leafbird an escapee/released bird of Thailand. I really wonder how people can stay for hours to shoot thousand of shots of a bird..... perfectionist I guess.

The slaty-legged crake is about 25 cm long. Its body is flattened laterally to allow easier passage through the undergrowth. It has long toes and a short tail. Colouring includes a brown back, chestnut head and breast, and strong black-and-white barring on the flanks, belly and undertail. The throat is white, the bill is yellowish, and the legs are green. Sexes are similar; juveniles are dark brown above and below, although they have the belly barring and white throat. There is another rarer cousin of Slaty-legged  namely the Red-legged which have similar features except its legs are red which is also a migrant  to peninsula Malaysia. Some overstay and breed here.