Purple-Throated Sunbird (Nectarinia sperata)

"In Chinese mythology, the sun is sometimes symbolized as a three-legged bird, called a Sun-Bird. There were ten of these Sun-birds, all of whom are the offspring of Dijun, God of the Eastern Heaven. The ten Sun-birds resided in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea; each day one of the Sun-Birds would travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the Mother of the Suns" - source: Wikipedia

Today there are over 100 + species of sunbirds through out this earth probably more as some may have yet to be known/recorded by science. Purple-Throated sunbird is amongst them and like most sunbirds it is just as beautiful esp the male ones. Here are the males:

And these are the females:

Its habitat and distribution areas are believed to be along coastal shores, offshore islands, mangroves and sometimes gardens. 

Birding in Redang - Mar 2013

Had a rare opportunity to visit one of the most popular island in Peninsular Malaysia. I was expecting to see a flock of pelagic birds swarming on the rocky crops just like those flying around some of Britain's Isles but to my disappointment there were more humans than birds in this island. The scenery was however simply magnifique.

Redang at dawn

Purple-Throated Sunbird - Male

Most sunbirds are beautiful birds so as this one.

Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo

I have been seeing a lot of cuckoo birds lately. This bird was much browner and smaller than the Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo which i saw at KSNP recently.

Little Heron/Striated Heron

Based on the color of its back feathers this pond-heron could have been a Chinese Pond-Heron or a Javan Pond-heron but i would just call it an unidentified pond heron.

White-Bellied Sea Eagle

A Pacific Reef Egret flying out to sea at dawn

There were also mammals and reptiles spotted in this island.

Took its photo because of its beautiful scales.

I believe this could be a Plantain Squirrel despite not having the black strip alongside its belly and it has a more creamy color.

Low's Squirrel

A restraining gesture 

Could this be a "Red-Legged Golden Orb-Web Spider (Nephila i. inaurata)?

There were many theories explaining the existence of these mammals, reptiles and insects on this island. One theory says that they could have drifted along with some woods to the island. Well since the nearest landmass is about 2 hours of speed boat ride it would probably take them a few months or so to reach the island that is provided that the log has sailed in the right direction all the time. The other theory which was postulated was that these creatures could have been brought in by humans or boats when they anchored at this island.  The third theory which may sound most likely is that they were here thousands of years ago when the island was part of the main land.

Here are some other activities which you may find at this island:

Canoeing

Snorkeling

There are also boats to take you around the island.

The entire place was scenic and clean despite all the human activities around the island.

Birding at UNiSZA, Kuala Terengganu - Mar 2013

While attending the "All Souls Day" back at my in law's place, i decided to visit UniSZA again. It was nice of Con. Annuar McAfee (the man who make this place famous) to drop by (albeit a short while). He was also kind enough to briefed me on the entire ecosystem of the lake, its resident birds as well as the projects which have kept him busy/quiet for 2 years. This time i saw more birds and some "difficult" ones (difficult in identifying that is).

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.

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.

White-Breasted Waterhen

Unlike the White-Browed Crake, this waterhen had just make a brief appearance before disappearing into the thick weeds. 

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.

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 

Striated Heron

Red-Wattled Lapwing

From a distance i could hear its alarming calls which sounded like: "Ti-ti Tiu, Ti-ti-tiu". 

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:

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.

Yellow-Bellied Prinia

Yellow Bittern

Barred Buttonquail

Not sure whether this fellow is wild or a domesticated bird as there is a quail barn nearby.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater

At this place these fellows are fewer in numbers than the Blue-Throated Bee-Eaters.

Blue-Throated Bee-Eater

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.

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!