Avian Sighting July 2020 - Pygmy Wren Babbler

These are my best photos thus far of the Pygmy Wren-Babbler. I managed a speed of 1:125 or 250 at high ISO of 1600. Lighting was just perfect ie  bright overcast lighting at about 1.30 pm for me to get these pictures. As the bird is quite hyper during its venture out to the feeding log;  you really need higher speed to freeze the action. Most of the time you are about to get focus on it and trigger your shot and the bird is no longer in the frame WTFlower...........

There is no juvenile sighted other than the Grey-throated Babbler. The other common one namely the Buff-breasted Babbler  is still around. 

Avian Sighting July 2019 - Streaked Wrenbabbler

I am so happy to reacquaint with a Streaked Wren in Bukit Fraser. I have not seen the bird for the past 2 years. It used to be a common sighting at Ulu Kali. It is one cute &  beautiful bird with its "angry bird" look. Wrenbabblers are very loud melodious birds and it is  no exception.

Okay guys it is at the Hermant's trail port so do drop by in the morning to shot it.

Wren Babbler 6/7 - Striped Wren Babbler (lifer 522)

The Striped Wren-Babbler can be seen in lowland dense forest in Johore side namely Panti, EndauRompin Pahang side to name a few. Sighting is also recorded in Taman Negara as well in Danum Sabah. Like all other Wren Babbler, it is a crooner and can response and duet with your callback for minutes at time. Its call is a melodious long "chuii" mono call. Video to be provided later.

They have a large radius feeding area and they drop by only once at a locale if you are near its feeding route.  If bird luck is not with you then  it not your time to see this bird.

The SWB is a medium size Wren Babbler coming in at 15cm compared to Eyebrowed or Pygmy below 10cm of the hill-lands. The adult showed here have a black mantle crown-nape with white specks buff lore. Its brown wings and breast side also got white streaks.

The last Wren Babbler that I need to look out for is the Eye-browed Wren Babbler  which we have record sighting in the hills of Negeri Sembilan and Bukit Frasers.

Wren Babbler 5/6 - Bornean Mountain Wren Babbler (lifer 507 - Bornean 14/100)

                                                                       

This is another endemic bird  that you can see in KNP.  Mountain Wren-babbler from a distance looks similarly to our peninsula Streaked Wren Babbler in looks and antics.



It is another crooner and will fly in out and over you as it duet loudly with our playback. 



It is about 14 cm in size. Pale-streaked dark chunky small babbler with dull white throat and dull rufous belly, bristly forecrown feathers projecting forwards.Its crown to lower back has  blackish streaky feathers and the white faint supercilium /brow.

WREN BABBLER 4/5 - Marbled Wren Babbler

 Marbled Wren Babbler
I am no longer envious of Davey as I finally in his league to shoot this elusive bird in Fraser hill. Like any other Wren Babbler,  MWB are beautiful crooner and can duet for long period of time. In the months of March-June they tends to be most approachable and can be enticed to show itself but not entirely; as you can see in my pictures.

Why it is called marbled wren is because  of the uniform white fringed black scaly feather on its entire chest and belly. It is even larger than its lowland cousin Large Wren Babbler  (8 in/20cm) by a good cm. It has a longer tail I suppose. Come to think of them they do have some similarities........

The Marbled Wren-babbler  is a species of bird in the Pellorneidae family. It is a resident of Indonesia and Malaysia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. In Peninsula it is more on hill forest  upto an altitude of 1,000m or so.

WREN BABBLER 3/5 - Large Wren Babbler

Large Wren Babbler
 

 

 

Surprise surprise a rare sight for the month May.

Normal size Wren Babbler is about 4-6 inches. This one is about 8 inches Not really large........mmmph. Distinguish blue eyering with black and white lore. Have a clear & beautiful voice call and yet very elusive and shy bird.

Found in broadleaved forest . Like many babblers it keep itself in dark corners of understorey bushes. It can mimic call of various other birds just like the Lyre bird.

 

WREN BABBLER 1/5 - Streaked Wren Babbler

 

 Streaked Wren Babbler

It was another outing with Jason This time to Awana for the morning. That morning was misty........ very misty than usual. We were there to catch the Blue Hill Flycatcher.

With the familiar chirping of "chiuee" or "chuuii or something like that of the tailorbird. Apparently the chirping is important to id a babbler. So many of them. Jason point me to the movements in the undergrowth. The ST Babbler is a resident in Malaysia hills upto 750m but the hot weather may push them higher. For me its a lifer but Jason he have encounter them before...... tell me to be patient and stay still and it will come down onto the road. And indeed it flew down a pair of them maybe a family of 2 with their offsprings. 6 inches in length. Adult the crown is darker black and red eyed.

It is nice to know they are flourishing and their habitat still there. Sad to see people are dumping building debris and furniture down the ravine at the track

WREN BABBLER 2/5 - Pygmy Wren Babbler

 Pygmy Wren Babbler

The smallest of the Wren Babbler at 8.5 cm in size made worse with no tail. A very rounded bird keeps to the mossy wet slope and ravine wall of trails and road of Awana, Frasers and Cameron birding grounds. Most of the time you hear it with 2 high low syllable call "wheeuit chuuuit" sulking in the undergrowth. Hops about in search of grubs rather than fly. I observed they do move about on a common trail...... so the idea is to wait patiently along any clear route. Best time is about 7-9 am.

There are two morphs the dark and the pale morph. The one pictured is the latter with the whitish scaly-liked chested whilst the dark morph have a more tanned scaly breast.