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.

 

Jungle Flycatcher (4/5) - Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Lifer 564/688)

 

Burly brownish flycatcher with a clean white throat, a warm bib, and a faintly hooked dark bill. Overall plainness and structure separate it from female “blue flycatchers” and migrant “brown flycatchers”. Gray-chested Jungle-Flycatcher has more evident gray wash on the head, overall darker upperparts, and lack of warm tones in the tail; its breast band is thicker overall, and is generally more gray-toned (though it can sometimes appear brownish). Rufous-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher is more slender and has a brighter rufous tail than Fulvous-chested; it is found at higher elevations where the two overlap in range. A bird of lowland forests and forest edges, typically in drier habitat. Flycatches from mid-level perches and sings an indescribably beautiful cascading series of high jingling notes.

Avian sighting Jan 2023 - Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Happy New Year 2023 Spent half a day birding at Ole Gombak road and got to lured this resident beauty into the open to its favorite plant. Passerine migrants of sort have been late coming as the weather changed dramatically. The dry condition will bring them in I hope.

 

Ground Bird (12/21) Borneo endemic - Red-breasted Partridge (Lifer 565/688)

We were lucky that this  other partridge  give us a short window opportunity to shoot them

at Gunung Alab. At the bird port I was shooting at a distance of 15-20 feet.  So it is good if you bring along your zoom telelens like my fuji XF 100-400mm or the Sony 200-600mm lens.  

 

The red-breasted partridge is also called the Bornean hill partridge. It is endemic to hill and montane forest of Borneo like Gunung Alab Tambunan, Crocker Range and KNP preferring bamboos and thickets environment. 

The red-breasted partridge feeds in groups, foraging in thickets, on forest trails and near rivers. Its diet consists of seeds, fruits and insects. It roosts in bushes. Its call is a duet, one bird giving rising chu notes and the other falling cuckoo notes. Its breeding is poorly known.

The red-breasted partridge is about 27 cm (11 in) long and weighs about 270 g (9.5 oz). The crown and nape are blackish, with brown spots. There is a grey or rufous supercilium and a blackish-brown band goes through the eye. The cheeks and throat are rufous. The breast is bright chestnut, sometimes browner, and the belly is whitish. The flanks are black and white. The upperparts are brown, with blackish bars. The eyes are grey, the beak is black, and the legs are pink. There is red bare skin around the throat, usually covered by sparse feathers. The female bird's plumage is a little duller than the male's. (Wiki)

Groundbird (Bornean Endemic) Pheasant - Bulwer's Pheasant (Lifer 566/688)

 

Bulwer's pheasant is endemic to the island of Borneo, While the species is locally common in protected areas (e.g. Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan) it is rarely found elsewhere. The bird inhabits hill and lower montane tropical forest, likely preferring highland rainforest and rarely visiting the lowlands below an altitude of 300 metres (980 ft). The diet consists mainly of fruits, worms, and insects.

Bulwer's pheasant is sexually dimorphic. Males have a total length of about 80 centimeters (31 in), and are black-plumaged with a maroon breast, crimson legs, a pure white tail of long, curved feathers, and bright blue facial skin with two wattles that conceal the sides of its head. Females have a total length of about 55 centimeters (22 in) and are overall dull brown colour with red legs and blue facial skin.

 (Wiki)

The Male we saw have shredded its fame white bushy tail unfortunately. I got limited opportunity to get better photos as the bird came out in the final hour at 5pm after the rain stopped but stayed for a short time. Some more the low lighting  got me 9/10 blur pictures as I was shooting at 1/15s ISO 2500-3200.

Leafbird (3/4) - Bornean Leafbird (Lifer 563/688) Chloropsis kinabaluensis (Bornean Leafbird)

Photo courtesy of AlanT; This is the female bird

My shot was pathetically blurred as I did not expect it to be a separate subspecies. Unlike the female Blue-winged the former have a black throat This is an endemic bird of Borneo. We were lucky to have a short stint acquaintance in the evening before our departure out to Tambunan. We only got to shot one bird as the male was elusive. Leafbird I think paired for life. Its also called Kinabalu Leafbird. So guys please do not ignore any bird in Sabah as there are many differences from our peninsula ones and can be your lifer.

Here is my pathetic shot as I take for granted its the blue-winged

 

Accurately-named leaf-green canopy-dweller of Borneo’s central montane forests. Male has a black throat with a blue center and lemon-yellow outline. Female similar, but throat is all-dark, with no blue or yellow on the head. Both sexes have sky-blue flight feathers. Very similar to male Blue-winged Leafbird (the female of which lacks a black throat); look for Bornean’s green crown, yellow bib, paler blue wings, and more yellow-washed underparts. Gives a high thin “tseep” and a whistled “wee-chup!”, among other calls. (wiki)

 

Illustration from www.beautyofbirds

Avian Post Nesting November 2022 - A dozen ducklings

It was a surprise sighting to see  that this pair of Whistling Duck can have a dozen duckling. I believe they may be  surrogate parents to other fledglings. Later we also sighted another pair of parents with about five duckling in another nearby canal in Sg Rambai. Looks like there is a bumper offspring here despite living amongst macaques and other predators like monitor lizards here.

Correction there were 15 of ducklings as countered by AT .