The Flora and Fauna of Malaysia's Forest (Part 2)

In this part 2, I will share some plants and insects photos which I encountered in my field trips from January this year todate. Here are some of their photos.

You might probably have seen this flower in your hiking trips. It starts with orange colour and ends with yellow colour. Unfortunately I am unable to find the name of its plant at this point of time.

and here is the yellow flower from the same plant species.

This moth's shape is like a stealth bomber. 

While this moth looks like a headless creature.

This moth is considered a pest by some literature.

They are called: Pochazia transversa (Ricaniid planthopper)

This is a Swallow-tailed Moth. Have been seeing them quite often since July until now !

According to some folklores, you might be able to see fairies dancing on top of mushrooms in a clear moonlit night.

This one is kinda unique.

This mushroom looks quite common.

While this ones looks like some well rounded stones.

These mushrooms looks edible.

Some kind of a fungus.

Some fruits of a palm tree.

The creature (s) which lay these eggs will probably have a hard time identifying their children.

These are not your ordinary vegetable leaves.

A caterpillar which blended well with the leaves colours.

The caterpillars which created these patterns have probably a diploma in arts and creative designs.

Look out for part 3 of the series whereby I will showcase a few nice photos of some birds and reptiles.

ADIOUS ! FOR NOW !

 

The Flora and Fauna of Malaysia's Forest (Part 1)

Here are some of the flora and fauna photos captured in early 2021 till todate. I will start with some mammals and insects which I have encountered in my field trips. 

Dusky Leaf Monkey / Dusky Langur / Spectacled Leaf Monkey

Status: Near Threatened 

They don't call them leaf monkeys for nothing.

These are White-thighed Surili (Presbytis siamensis)

They got very long tail.

Status: Near Threatened 

They can move fairly easy in the thick jungle despite their size.

This must be an adult female.

Long-tailed Macaque

A very friendly juvenile / sub adult Wild Boar.

 

Most of these juveniles are curious lots

Family bonding time.

It came very close to 'smell' me but unfortunately I did not bring any food for them.

So it decided to show me where and how they find their food - right in front of me.

Their snout acts like a shovel.

Local folks told me that they have seen wild boars on the beach. I don't believe them initially until I saw these tracks.

A cicada is said to live under-ground for a couple of years before they finally emerge.

When they finally emerged, their life span is around two to five years only.

There were quite a lot of butterflies but this one caught my attention.

This stick insect is endangering itself by sunbathing in the open.

Another sticky insect. 

According to the experts here, this is a female 'Green-striped flying stick insect' (Presbistus peleus).

This looks like a stint bug.

Part 2 of the series coming up in the next post !

Waders - the long distance migratory birds (Part 2)

This is the continuation of part 1... Most of them were Lesser Sand Plovers, Red-necked stints and a few new ones.

From afar I saw this big bird flying towards me. I could not determine what it is.

As it came nearer, I could see that it was a tern but not sure which one.

OMG ! I couldn't believe what I saw - it's a Caspian Tern ! This was seen on 28 August 2021 at KKM (Kedah) - the first record of this species at this place.

It did not land immediately but instead made a U-turn.

Luckily it decided to turn back together with a few Common Terns and Lesser Crested Tern.

It was already in its winter plumage.

 It choose a spot where there are fewer terns.

What a tern it was to land here. The nearest known record of this tern was in 2016 at Teluk Air Tawar (near Bagan Belat area).

Experts or seasoned birders have identified the above tern as a Gull-Billed Tern. (I am not 100% sure actually).

There were lots of Common Terns as well as Lesser Crested Terns this time.

They can be easily spooked by passing fishing boats or yours truly

Another 'new' bird has also landed.

Pacific Golden Plover

There were just two of them this time.

It looks like it has a long tongue but it was actually gobbling up a sea worm.

They are an all-terrain wader - meaning they can be found from the coastline mudflats, to the plain of Chuping Plantations, or the marshlands of Batu Kawan and the paddy fields of Permatang Pauh.

The one in the forefront is a Greater Sand Plover - identified for me by the more experienced birders.

A Common Sandpiper is about to land. They too came in later than the first batch of waders which were seen here in July.

 

Common Redshank hitting the sunlight at the right moment. 

(note: P8 of primary feathers is noticeable just emerging)

Who do you think will win the short sprint of 5 meters ?

Lesser Sand Plover

or 

Red-necked Stint

This Lesser Sand Plover still spots some breeding colors. I believe they will change (into winter plumage) by late September onwards.

Some already changed apparently.

This is a smart and neat looking juvenile Lesser Sand Plover (above).

In between those LSP, there were a few Red-necked Stints.

Another juvenile LSP. Apparently the juveniles will fly in later than the adults.

They have long legs which can outrun any 'crabbies'.

 

The bigger scapulars of this LSP indicates that it is likely an adult bird and may have molt earlier before they arrived here.

Their legs may appear very thin at times.

Another LSP showing an uneven sort of wing molt

These are perhaps some of the best close-up photos of waders I have ever taken so far. No amount of sunburn could deter me from coming back for more of these wonderful long distance migratory birds called Waders  ! I felt very happy and satisfied.

HAPPY WADERS DAY !