Birds of Ulu Kali Mountain - May 2014

After spending a few exhilarating moments at the mudflats of Bagan Belat under the scorching sun, i figured that its about time to adjourn to a much cooler area. Some senior birders would gladly inform you that there are a few birding sites which you should continue visiting, just like it would be compulsory for you to visit your mother-in-law's house every month if not every week. Aside from Mount KK in Sabah or probably Gunung Telapa Buruk in Negeri Sembilan, i think there are not many mountains in Malaysia which are able to have such an amazing variety of birds in such a small loci.

The Mountain before the break of dawn.

A typical landscape of this Mountain.

The moss covered floor created a spongy like feeling when you walk on them.

As the sun comes out so did the birds.

Here are some of the birds, both common and probably uncommon ones which you might get to see them in this mountain as of May 2014.

It looks like a Mountain Leaf Warbler but from the amount of white color on its tail you might probably not discount it as a "White-Tailed Leaf Warbler". Seen foraging alone.

Little Cuckoo Dove

Little Cuckoo Dove is more common in Fraser's Hill then here.

Bar-Throated Minla

Feeding time for these colorful and friendly Minla. Previously this bird was named Chestnut-Tailed Minla (Minla strigula). 

Chestnut-Crowned Laughingthrush

Another colorful and friendly bird up here.

Long-tailed Sibia

House Swift

This swift is also known as "Little Swift" (Apus affinis) or is it (Apus nipalensis)?

Mountain Bulbul

Grey-Throated Babbler

From the color of its lighter greyish throat i guess these Grey-Throated Babblers were from the "S. spadix" subspecies and not from the "coltarti".

Black-Eared Shrike Babbler

Have yet to get any decent photos of this bird but it looks like its either a female or a juvenile as the male bird is usually more colorful than this one.

Rufous-Winged Fulvetta

Another common Mountain Bird

Golden Babbler

Like most babblers, a sulker which hardly stays at one place for a minute.

Common Green Magpie

It was probably saying: "Hello its me"

Let me see whether there is anything here!

Nope! no suspected aliens here. All looks clear.

Please note that this is not a feral bird  nor was it lost or "sesat" in some city. It was actually a wild bird which has just perched on some human made structure in this Mountain.

BTW: you may have noticed that the above Green Magpie has traces of blue on its back and tail. You might also aware that there are Common Green Magpies which are blue in color. Here is an explanation which i have obtained from the web: "Green magpies' green feathers will fade to turquoise-blue when they are frequently exposed to the sun because the sun's ultra violet rays will destroy the color pigments in the birds feathers (i.e carotenoids). In addition, the lack of carotenoids in their diet was also thought to contributed to the existence of blue plumage when moulting". Amazing right but why it happens only to Common Green Magpies and not to other green feathered birds !

Mountain Leaf Warbler

The first photo probably shows a juvenile Mountain Leaf Warbler. The absence of any clear bars on its wings would discount it from other warblers. However like most warblers this warbler has many subspecies and variation of colors. Apparently in Sabah, its Mountain Leaf Warbler (P. trivirgatus kinabaluensis) has notably paler plumage (more whitish) rather than yellow (Suara Enggang, Vol. 21/4 Dec. 2013, pp 18).

Mountain Fulvetta

Mountain Fulvetta is more common at Fraser's Hill rather than at this Mountain.

White-Throated Fantail

A common montane bird.

Large Niltava - female

Large Niltava - Male

A lovely and friendly resident couple.

I believe this is a Large Niltava - Junior

Mountain Tailor Bird

Black-Throated Sunbird - Female

Bay Woodpecker

Some field guides have described this woodpecker as "common" but this was the first time i have seen it at this location. Although other birders have also seen it before (at this location) but the frequency of sighting were certainly not really frequent. Despite the lack of a red patch below its neck, it should be a Bay Woodpecker with the black bars on its wings and the location of its sighting. I have also heard some soft drumming coming from this woodpecker.

Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush

Another common resident bird but it appears like this laughing thrush numbers are dwindling. Only seen a few as compared to the more numerous Chestnut-Crown Laughingthrush at this location. Maybe they may have moved down to the lower part of this mountain and let the Chestnut Crowns to occupy the higher regions.

Silver-Eared Mesia

Silver-Eared Mesia is exceptionally more common in Fraser's Hill than at this Mountain region.

Javan Cuckooshrike

A common cuckooshrike which you might encounter in the many mountains / hill stations.

PLEASE ADVOCATE ETHICAL BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AND BIRD WATCHING TO OTHERS !

  

HAPPY BIRDING !

NOTE: ULU KALI MOUNTAIN IS NOW CLOSE TO PUBLIC ! YOU CAN'T ACCESS THERE ANYMORE ! NO THANKS TO SOME OVER ZEALOUS PHOTOGRAPHERS !

Little Egret (Egretta garzettta garzetta)

Quite often we would come across this immaculate "snow-white" bird during our many outings that we would at times brushed it off as just another common bird - "ah it was just a little egret", "usual suspect", "just a common egret" etc etc. Local Chinese people here would at times call it a "lup-sap chiao" which literally means a rubbish bird. However not many people knew that this Little Egret was once a "scarce" bird and that it has as many as six (6) subspecies/close relatives. 

The one which we would often come across in this region namely Peninsular Malaysia or perhaps South East Asia is the species "Egretta garzetta garzetta". It is predominantly white in color with an all black bill and some faint whitish yellow at the base of its bill. During non breeding, its lores are blue gray or at times just plain greyish white or yellow while its legs are dark and feet is yellow. However during breeding season, the lores would turn pink to red but the bill would remain black. Its feet is also reported to turned red ! During courtship little egrets will developed the characteristic plumes on the back of its head, lower throat and back. The male which is reported to be bigger than the females have longer lanceolate crown plumes which can be up to 16cm long. 

Because Little Egrets are considered an opportunistic bird i.e taking the advantage of whatever prey that is abundant or accessible in that location, it can be found in various habitats.

River Banks

Rice Fields

Marshes/Ex-Mining Ponds

Irrigation Canal

Mudflats

Note: research have also reported that Little Egrets were found at 1400m in Nepal and 2000m in Armenia !

Sub-species and Distribution

At the moment there are generally six (6) sub-species which have been researched;

i) Ergretta garzetta garzetta- Europe, Africa and most of Asia and South East Asia.
ii) Ergretta garzetta nigripes - Indonesia to Guinea
iii) Ergretta garzetta immaculata - Australasia to New Zealand
iv) Ergretta gularis gularis - West Africa (considered as Reef Egrets)
v) Ergretta schistacea, asha - Red Sea to India (considered as Reef Egrets)
vi) Ergretta dimorpha/Dimorphic Egret) - East Africa, Commoros, Madagascar (considered as Reef Egrets)

(Note: for a detail taxonomic explanation of the various sub-species, kindly refer to www. heronconservation.org).  

Of the six sub-species, only two sub-species is reported to have been seen/occurred in Malaysia and Singapore i.e. i) Egretta garzetta garzetta and ii) Egretta garzetta nigripes

i) Egretta garzetta garzetta - legs almost entirely black, feet yellow to greenish
ii) Egretta garzetta nigripes - legs and feet are generally black.(Less common)

Both sub-species is reported as common winter visitors/passage migrants to this region. They would be here between the months from late August and September and returning to their breeding grounds between March - April.  However there were articles and books out there reporting that South East Asia is not considered as one of its breeding range. Well, this info should by now be corrected as there were reports of Little Egrets breeding in Peninsular Malaysia ! - Dr. Amar Singh HSS reported in year 2012 of some breeding colonies together with Cattle Egrets and Intermediate Egrets!

Here are some of the common "Egretta garzetta garzetta" which we would usually encountered. (photos here were taken during non-breeding times):

Here is a somewhat interesting picture (below) which appears like a "Egretta garzetta nigripes" although it may not be conclusive enough. Have a look:

Egretta nigripes?

Despite its current status of "Least Concern" and its range is expending as recorded by IUCN, locally the bird (which is named "Bangau Kecil") is a protected species under the Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Akta Pemuliharaan Hidupan Liar 2010/ Akta 716)  - CITES - Appendix III - Schedule II.

SELAMAT MEMBURUNG / HAPPY BIRDING EVERY ONE !

References:

i) www.heronconservation.org - Heron Conservation is the world's leading body of scientific, practical, and conservation expertise on the biology, status and conservation of the herons (Ardeidae) of the world.

ii) Bird Ecology Study Group.

iii) Bird Life International.

iv) Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara, Malaysia.

v) Wikipedia.

vi) Personal field observations.

Searching for the Illusive Ones at Air Itam Dalam - Mar 2014

Recent reports by the Penang birders on the sighting of Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo, Ruddy Kingfisher and Blue Winged Pitta among other birds have got my birding hormones reaching to the maximum level. When i finally got my chance, off i went to look for the illusive birds. Reached the location at 7.30am and headed straight to the tree which i thought the spotted wood owl might be roosting on.

After awhile of searching, it was a different bird which appeared from the heaven.

Blue-Winged Pitta

It was close to 8.00am when this pitta appeared. Only one photo turns up "decently" well (which was the above photo). As it was still dark so i decided to watch the bird with just my two little eyes instead. It was seen hopping leisurely around - first it was near the road, then it jumped to the concrete embankment and down to the swampy area. Could also see the two big white patches on its wings when she goes around looking for an early meal. The entire episode was just about 8 - 10 minutes but the joy of looking at my first pitta in the wild was absolutely satisfying. My bogey bird is finally in the bag! With this sighting i have seen almost 70% of the common nomenclature of birds which could be found in Peninsular Malaysia - eagles, babblers, thrushes, hornbills, broadbills, flycatchers, pigeons, sunbirds, owls, malkohas, etc etc except perhaps vultures, cormorants, frigates, boobies and chats.

(note: locally its called: "Burung Pacat Sayap Biru" but its main/favourite diet was reported to be worms. In Thailand this bird is named:  "Nok Taew Laew thammadaa". According to David Wells (2007), autumn migrants would have completely moult by the time they arrive in Malaysia)

Hill Myna

Up next was this Hill Myna which was calling out loud. Not sure whether this was an escapee or from the wild but this was the first time i have seen it here. At this juncture came Wai Mun and his friend. After exchanging some greetings we were off looking for our own targets.

Mangrove Blue Flycatcher - Male

It was just 8.05am when i saw this male mangrove blue. You could see a mosquito on its back trying to get its last pint of blood before the sun comes out.

Blue Glassy Tiger

There was also quite a number of butterfly species at this location.

Also saw a Large-Tailed Nightjar which flew across the path but i think you may find it difficult to identify the above bird. Certainly not a Black Kite as its tail is not forked.

This was certainly a Black Kite (M. migrans). Somehow these kites love to make this location their winter home.

Asian Openbill

The same goes with the Asian Openbills which have strongly make their presence felt here. Saw a few flying towards Kepala Batas. As most of the rice fields were dry and cropped wonder where they would feed on.

Unidentified Pond Heron 

Lineated Barbet

Abbott's Babbler

Heard this Abbott's Babbler calling together with a nearby white-chested babbler.

Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo - H. nisicolor

The presence of the babblers have probably attracted this cuckoo to this area. 

Looking at the above photo you might now know why experts have called it a hawk cuckoo. Its appearance at this angle certainly looks like one. 

Besides this cuckoo i did saw another larger cuckoo nearby but could not really describe it. Nevertheless i was able to identify the above bird as a Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo based on the following reasons:

i) its size was small and compact unlike a Large Hawk Cuckoo.

ii) It does not have a cheek-stripe like a Moustached Hawk Cuckoo.

Now the tricky part is to distinguish it between a "nisicolor" or a "fugax". 

According to Yong Ding Li in his unpublished article titled "Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo - A Birder's Headache", there are three subtle differences which could differentiate between a Hodgson (H.nisicolor) and a Malaysian (H.fugax) - i) songs, ii) morphometrics and iii) plumage. Out of the three and for an average birder like me, only the third (iii) feature i.e. its plumage patterns is the most likely and viable way to determine the differences between the two species. According to Yong Ding Li and most field guides, adults of both species can be easily told apart. However the absence of an orangy rufous wash on the breast of this bird and its brownish color plumage indicates that it was most likely an immature bird which makes it more difficult to identify. To differentiate between the immatures of Hodgson's and the Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo in the field, Yong Ding Li suggested that there are two subtle clues to look out for i.e (i) the lack of white nuchal patch and (ii) the pale to whitish patch on the innermost tertial feathers of an immature Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo. Malaysian Hawk Cuckoo (H.fugax) immatures on the other hand were said to have a small white patch on the nape which is noticeable and consistent in the field and its innermost tertial feathers are much browner. Meanwhile Dave Bakewell also suggested that the relatively narrow subterminal tail bar and a paler upper tertial should indicate a Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo.

As for me the indicators which points the above cuckoo to a Hodgson's Hawk Cuckoo (H.nisicolor) was the absence of the white nuchal patch, and the uneven tail bars.

Here are some of the other birds seen.

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Jungle Myna

Cattle Egret

Little Egret

Collared Kingfisher

Asian Dollar Bird

Common Flameback - Male

Common Flameback - Female

For comparison purposes, here are some photos of a female Greater Flameback. The photos below were taken from a mangrove area near the Kuala Muda river mouth a few days earlier.

Greater Flameback - female

From the above photos, the differences between a Common Flameback and a Greater Flameback can be seen from the white patch at the center of its neck as opposed to an all black hindneck of a Common Flameback. The other feature is from the color of its iris. These are the two very prominent field markings. 

No photographer could resist taking the photo of this Plantain Squirrel (C. notatus).

This Little/Striated Heron was at its prime breeding plumage. A look at its long back plumes and you will know why.

It was another great day at this place. Hope the authorities will preserve this place so that the future generations could enjoy it.

"Birding is not about breaking records. It is about appreciating nature and being with nature"