The Amazing Red Bearded Bee-Eater

Red Bearded Bee-Eater or scientifically named Nyctyornis amictus is one of the only four (4) bee-eater species which can be found in Malaysia so far. It is a resident bee-eater and it is quite common in mid mountainous regions. Its diet is reportedly to be predominantly insects and recently i had an opportunity to see a male bird trying his luck on a beetle.

Here you can see the beetle between its mandibles. The beetle was probably caught from the nearby foliage and brought to the tree branch. The tree was about 20-30 feet high located in the mid level of a nearby primary forest.

The bee-eater tried its best to get the bulky and slippery beetle into a good edible position.

At one time the beetle was just inches away from freedom and here you can see that it was merely dangling at the tip of the mandibles. 

The bee-eater then tried other ways to get the beetle into position.

But the beetle was very stubborn and wouldn't want to give in. So the bee-eater decided to whack the beetle a couple of times on the branch until it passed out !

With the now almost "immobilised" beetle between its mandibles, the bee-eater tried again.

After about 15 minutes of maneuvering its prey, the beetle finally went down the bee-eaters's throat. Burp ! The bee-eater was motionless on the branch for a couple of minutes after swallowing the huge beetle. 

Then the final conclusion of the entire process - the wiping of beaks. This arboreal foliage-gleaning insectivore would probably not be eating again for the next few days.

HAPPY BIRDING !

Birds of Hutan Lipur Perdik - Apr and May 2015

The world of academia was once considered as sacred as the mountains of Madinah but nowadays it is hard to trust anyone in the academia. When academia at the top behave like some rogue politicians, deceiving, belittle and sabotaging its own people while quietly emptying the coffers among themselves then the virtues of an institution of a higher education have actually been compromised.  

The above photo is not like your garden of Eve nor was it like any common anthropogenic landscapes. It is an original and serene jungle pool where you can soothe your angry soul by having a dip inside. Unfortunately there were lots of mozzies on the trails at the moment so the bath will have to wait but i did sweat a bucket from walking around.

Now back to birding. Here are some of the birds seen inside and around Perdik recently (i.e between end of April and early May 2015).

Arctic Warbler

This is certainly an adult bird. The wing bars can be seen here but it is not a distinguishable feature as any experience birders would attest. Aside from the absence of a lateral white line on top of its head and the yellow vent, take note of the little black patch at its lower mandible. This little black patch is more visible with an Arctic as compared to an Eastern-Crowned Warbler (pers obs). Arctic Wabler (Phylloscopus borealis) is a long distance migratory bird and it would be interesting to see whether the bird will returned to this place in its next winter trip.  Rapid forest fragmentation due to cultivation will have a profound impact at this location in the near future. That is for sure!

Ruby-Cheeked Sunbird (male)

You can see the purple streak on the side of his face which separates it from other similar looking sunbird. Some older versions of field guides have somehow failed to describe/highlight this feature. Same goes with the cuckoo bird below:

This cuckoo flew in silently and stop for a few seconds above my head before flying to the opposite side of the road. Can you guess which cuckoo species it belong to?

Little Bronze Cuckoo (Female)

Yup ! its a female Little Bronze Cuckoo. Here you can see a tinge of green hue on her feathers but unfortunately you are not able to see the narrow green orbital eye ring which separates her from the male.

Perhaps you can see a lil of it here.

Some old field guides did not show this feature in their drawings. In addition to the above cuckoo, i have also heard the calls from an Indian Cuckoo and as well as a Plaintive Cuckoo nearby.

Black-Headed Bulbul

The most sighted bulbul species at the moment (i.e April to May 2015)

Nope!  i am not telling you anything.....

Red-Eyed Bulbul

Probably the second most sighted bulbul species after the Black Headed Bulbul at this location and at this point of time. From a distance and in bad lighting, it may resemble a spectacle bulbul.

Spectacle Bulbul

White-Rumped Munia

Seen one of them fetching nesting materials.

This is certainly a swiflet but not sure which subspecies it belongs to. There were not many flying around though.

Not really a decent photo but glad to know that it is still around. The last time i saw this male Black-Naped Monarch at this place was many years back. It was seen incubating at its nest which was quite near to the trail. Hopefully the female is still around too.

Plain Sunbird (female)

She is guarding her precious flowers.

Large Woodshrike or Black-winged Flycatcher Shrike?

It is surely a Large Woodshrike!

The sound of fruits dropping from the trees led me to these pigeons. There were two groups and i think the above green pigeons were Pink-Necked Green Pigeon.

But not this one ! From its maroon colored mantle and under tail i strongly believe that this is a Little Green Pigeon.


Also saw some reptiles:

A common cicak (Draco sumatranus - male) and skink.


Most of the time the highlight of any bird trips were the sighting of a special bird like a raptor. Here is a juvenile Changeable Hawk Eagle.

#like wearing a fluffy legging pants.

Changeable Hawk Eagle (juvenile)

This eagle had initially perched quite low inside some dense foliage. I must have flush it out and it flew up to a higher branch. It was quite alert as it flew off as soon as i tried to inch my way closer. The feathers look grayish under a shade but once in the open and in direct contact of sunlight the feathers look brownish in color. An amazing fact and natural phenomenon!

Birding in FRIM, Kepong - May 2015

I decided to detour at this location after a massive home going motorists have slowed down the traffic on all major roads heading out from KL. After three years of absence, the first place i went was no other than this well known lake area.

There were no star birds this time except for a few common birds such as oriental magpie, white throated kingfisher, spotted dove and some red-eyed bulbul.

Red-Eyed Bulbul

Oriental Magpie Robin

After spending just about 5 minutes at the lake, i went straight into the forest trails. 

Although birding alone can be boring at times but with the sound of cicadas, insects and birds around you, it kinda lift up your battered spirit.

A potential great place to do some herping.

The forest area was much more "livelier" - lots of people and just a few common birds.

Orange-backed Woodpecker

This male Orange-Backed was playing hide n seek with me for quite awhile - going around the tree trunk just like some bollywood movie scenes.

Unlike the male, the female Orange-Backed was more vocal and obliging at the same time.

At one time the male foraged quite low to the ground as depicted by the above photo.

Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo

This GRT Drongo has the most impressive repertoire of calls i have ever heard. I have recorded at least four different calls it has produced and one of those was a mimicked of calls from a Pin Stripped Tit Babbler. You just need to listen to them to believe it ! 

This male Buff-Necked Woodpecker flew in silently and forage in a dense and dark area of the forest hence its blur photo.

By noon most of the birds were silent. You could still see them but without their vocal cords switched on it will be harder to spot them. One of those were these broadbills.

Banded Broadbill

Black-and-Yellow Broadbill

Dark-Necked Tailorbird

Check out its tail feathers. The pattern certainly looks the same as the previous one i photographed elsewhere.

Velvet-Fronted Nuthatch (male)

This is one of those birds which could challenge Issac Newton's law of gravity.

See what i meant?

Yellow-Breasted Flowerpecker (female)

She stayed on the branch for quite some time for me to produce these images. Thank you birdy.

Up next was this flycatcher.

Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher

The bird certainly looks quite thin. Fortunately there were lots of butterflies at that time so i believe it should have no problems finding some caterpillars to eat. Note: according to most field guides, Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher is a common resident bird. The only problem is that you could only find them occasionally.

On this occasion i did came across a migrant bird which has yet to return home.

Looks a bit like a Red-backed Shrike ? Not until you see its back.

Brown Shrike

This Brown Shrike was certainly busy filling up its stomach. Seen here with a large grasshopper.

Asian Fairy Bluebird

Sometimes in the jungle trails you can hear people converse a few miles away from you and you could't blame these people as both of them were over 80 years old. They would appear screaming at each other but actually they were just having a friendly chat. The folks using the jungle trails were quite friendly to this birder as some nice remarks such as "nice hobby", "got any nice birds?", "keep it up" etc were mentioned. There was an elderly lady who even told me that she saw a "lam cheok" (a blue bird) and pointed towards its direction. Lo and behold the bird she saw was the above female Asian Fairy Blue bird. Thanks folks! You all have certainty encouraged me to visit this place again!