Common Birds of Cape Rachado - March 2016

You will probably realised by now that there are some things in this world which you can't really control - for example nature. Some even say it includes your mother-in law or perhaps your bosses too. But the most unpredictable of them all should be the weather. I decided to make a late trip on March 27 to this famous cape hoping to watch a bounty of migrant raptors flying across the Straits of Malacca. Unfortunately the wind was blowing towards the sea at that time. No birds would attempt to fly across the Straits in such conditions as it would be like driving against the traffic !

Nevertheless the resident birds did show up well and here are just some of them.

Purple-Throated Sunbird (Nectarinia sperata)

Finally i was able to see its iridescent purple color throat.

Now you see it and now you don't !

From its scientific name you could probably guess that its main source of food are nectar.

Despite so many bees flying around, they did not stop this colorful sunbird taking nectar from the flowers.

Even its rump has some iridescent metallic blue color.

Purple-Throated Sunbird - female

The females are equally stunning.

The color of its rump is basically olive green as compared to the male.

At about 10.30am, came this White-Bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster). It is one of the many huge raptors which you can find in Malaysia. You can also see its wedge shaped tail here. Apparently scientist are still debating whether the shape of a tail has any aerodynamic significance.

There were three (3) of them circling around the light house.

One of them decided to go after some squirrels at the tree tops.

Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus)

A moment later came this kite. It is much smaller but many times more aggressive. Saw it trying to catch a flying swift.

Germani Swiflet

There were quite a lot of them at that time.

This is a male Orange-Bellied Flowerpecker. Another stunning resident bird.

Didn't realise that this place has Olive-Winged Bulbul as well.


When things get a bit boring, nature has its own way of entertaining its guest.

So came this Green Turtle from the deep bluish emerald colored sea. I used to see three of them but only one appeared this time.

Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete)

The butterflies down here are equally stunning.

Striped Albatross (Appias libythea)

This Dollar Bird with an insect on its beak greeted me on my way back.

If you have been birding with some senior birders before, you will probably noticed that there are some birding etiquette which you would need to follow. If you are still not sure what they are, here are some of the dos and don'ts which you will need to observe when you go out with them.

Rule # 1:  do not talk anything else to them except birds. 

Rule # 2:  do not say such things as "i ate two hornbills when i went camping last week". You will be a roasted swine in no time !

Rule # 3:  do not ask silly questions such as "whether we can find California Condors in Fraser's Hill"?  They are highly intelligent and successful people who spent half of their lives in the jungle and mudflats. Not forgetting paddy fields as well. 

Rule # 4:  Do not show them a photo of a caged bird even though the photo can launch a zillion ships.

Rule # 5: do shock them with some bombastic terminology such as "lore", "lateral crown stripe", "mantle", "primary fingers" etc although you may not necessarily know the real meaning of those words.

Rule # 6: do show and discuss with them the sketching you have made on the birds you have seen. Never mind if the sketches may look like a mongoose than a bird but i am sure the senior birders will be keen to listen to your explanations.

HAPPY BIRDING !

The Migrant Birds of Chuping Grassland Feb'16 - PART 2

There are many things in the universe which science has yet to find an answer - like why some people do not like to put on the indicator light when changing lanes? or why it appears that Singapore has more rare birds visiting them frequently? or perhaps why all planets are round and not square or triangle in shape? When science can't find an answer to a phenomenon then the spiritual perspective will usually fill the void. 

Unlike some migrants birds which may have took off as early as February, some of them have preferred to stay a little bit longer - either due to the reason that they have arrived later during the autumn migration or perhaps they are filling their fats and strengthening their flight muscle before embarking their arduous journey home. Here are some of the migrant birds which are still around in mid February:

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) - female

What a beauty ! Basking herself in the glory of the early morning sun rays. 

Eastern Marsh Harrier (male)

This is what happens when you have forgotten to change the aperture in your camera otherwise it would have been a splendid photo.

The same bird as it flew further away.

Pied Harrier (female)

She is scheming the weeds below for her first morning meal.

Common Stonechat / Siberian Stonechat (male)

Presently there are 24 known subspecies of stonechats (HBW alive). Most of them i believe were based on geographical variation. Out of the 24 subspecies, only two are said to occur in Peninsular Malaysia i.e Saxicola stejnegeri and S. przewalskii. No worries as long as you call them either a Common Stonechat or a Siberian Stonechat nobody will laugh at you.

Did you just said i am from Siberia?

Here is another male common stonechat which was seen not too far from the first one. This one appears like having some new and fresh feathers sprouting out near its rump.

How do you differentiate between a male Oriental Pipit and a female Oriental Pipit? Well just look at their legs. This one i think is most likely a female.

This one appears to have a longer snout and beak but since i have not mastered the features of a Richard's Pipit, i will just named it as an Oriental Pipit as well.

Brown Shrike

This shrike has also yet to depart for home.


Here are some of the resident birds which are equally stunning.

Purple Heron

It stayed motionless like this for close to 10 minutes but eventually it still missed catching the prey.

Little Grebe

They are a pair i believe.

Female Pink-Necked Green Pigeon

Its not easy to  photograph them in flight. This one was just one lucky shot.


Here is one which i have not seen before - a leucistic Yellow-Vented Bulbul !

Despite its condition, it still retains its yellow vent. There have been  a few reported cases of leucistic Yellow Vented Bulbul in this region and i believe Wong Tsu Shi has also photographed one in Sabah. Why is this bulbul species are so prone to deficiency of melanin ? You might just need to ask the bird scientist.


HAPPY BIRDING !