This was the first "difficult" bird i saw. It was rather fat for a swift and it flew quite slowly - flapping its wings and glide - unlike swift-like. That was probably why i was able to take a photo of its rump. Nevertheless i believe it could have just been a German's Swiftlet or previously known as Edible-Nest Swiftlet.
A Little Egret which had just passed by and did not land.
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| Intermediate Egret |
Although i was at the lake at around 16.30hrs but the birds only started to appear or flew in at around 17.30hrs. It may be due to the heat of the sun or perhaps they flew back to roost.
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| White-Breasted Waterhen |
Unlike the White-Browed Crake, this waterhen had just make a brief appearance before disappearing into the thick weeds.
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| White-Browed Crake |
Initially it was quite wary of its surroundings, waging its tail up and down (like in the first photo) but once it was comfortable it will casually wander around.
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| Lesser Coucal |
This Lesser Coucal make a sudden appearance and perched at the highest shrub. Only its head was moving just like on a watchtower
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| Striated Heron |
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| Red-Wattled Lapwing |
From a distance i could hear its alarming calls which sounded like: "Ti-ti Tiu, Ti-ti-tiu".
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| Red-Wattled Lapwing in flight |
At this place you could also see Chinese Pond Herons at various moulting stages which may be due to the asynchronous development of the hatching eggs. Here are some of its photos:
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| Chinese-Pond Heron - Adult |
In the above photo you could clearly see a tinge of black patches at the tip of its outer primaries which was described by Robson (2007) of this bird.
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| Yellow-Bellied Prinia |
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| Yellow Bittern |
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| Barred Buttonquail |
Not sure whether this fellow is wild or a domesticated bird as there is a quail barn nearby.
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| Asian Brown Flycatcher |
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| Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater |
At this place these fellows are fewer in numbers than the Blue-Throated Bee-Eaters.
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| Blue-Throated Bee-Eater |
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| Blue-Throated Bee-Eater in flight |
A breeding report of the Blue-Throated Bee-Eaters as well as some its splendid photos can be seen in "Suara Enggang" - Vol.20/3 Sept 2012 issue.
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| Brown Shrike |
The above photos actually show two different birds but both i believe were just Paddy Field Pipits.
There are many experts' description out there on the differences between Pintail Snipes and Swinhoe Snipes but most of them would end up with a suggestion of counting the number of its tail feathers to be exact or 100% sure. Thank God they did not suggest DNA sampling. However there are also experts out there who are confident that the differences can also be determined in flight. I was lucky to have these photos as it was rather difficult to spot them let alone id them. Using the matrix checklist procedure i will attempt to identify the above snipe which has made its appearance at this place.
I have earlier id this bird as a "Pintail Snipe" but after having read more books and its details, i would like to review back my earlier decision.
Pintail Common Swinhoe
Characteristics:
i) Zig zag flight patterns Yes Yes More direct
ii) White trailing edge to secondaries Almost none Yes Almost none
iii) Belly - white and unbarred More barred Yes More barred
iv) Brown on top with cream lines Pale brown Yes Pale brown
down their back
Since there were more "Yes" / ticks on this bird, i believe that it could just have been a "Common Snipe" instead of a Pintail Snipe.
This unique skink ends my wonderful trip at this lake. Hope to be back again if there are any opportunities in the near future. Happy Birding Everyone !!
(Note: finally i have found the id of this reptile ! It looks like a Common Butterfly Lizard (Leiolepis belliana) or also known as a Malayan Butterfly Lizard ). Literature has reported that this lizard is a parthenogenetic species which means that it has both male and female organs in it. Amazing!
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