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!

Spending some time with oiseaux de la forêt

Do you speak French? No! Don't worry. Birds don't speak French either but they do know how to express themselves if you go around chopping down their favourite fruiting trees or ruin their habitat.

Take this you @*!&#4 !

Now hold your horses Mr Officer ! The above Dark-Necked Tailorbird was only showing off its amazing tail feathers. Oh yes the French word for today is "oiseaux de la forêt" which means forest birds. Its about the right time to venture into the forest and spent some moments with them. Air Itam Dalam Recreational Forest was the first place i went. 

The first thing i have noticed at this place was the missing tree trunk near the back end of the suspension bridge which was usually frequented by a pair of Black-Thighed Falconet. Crap!

This Abbott's Babbler was calling uncharacteristically out in the open. Taking her photos in the thick undergrowth was a real challenge though.

Abbott's Babbler

After calling out in the open it was back to its usual self i.e back into the undergrowth. 

This pair of woodpeckers came out in the open as well.

Male is on your left

I believe they are looking for some worms in the tree trunk. 

There is nothing wrong with your vision. They are perfectly fine ! The above photo was slightly blur. Shot handheld without IS.

This was the other male seen not too far away from the earlier couple.

As you may have noticed, what i have actually seen here was some Laced Woodpecker and not a Streak-Breasted Woodie. I immediately went through my past photos at this location and discovered that most of the previous photos actually showed some Laced Woodpeckers except perhaps the one seen back in year 2012. Therefore i believe Laced Woodpecker is more common here than Streak-Breasted. If you wish to see how does a Streak-breasted woodpecker would look like at this location, go to Oriental Bird Images (look for photos sent by Mun and John Steed).

Up next was this Coucal.

Initially i thought i saw a big chicken ! As it slowly crept out in the open i have reported it as a short-toed coucal. Then a few days later 'kena' query from an expert. So i showed a photo of its hind toe to the expert (see photo below)

The expert says the hind toe of a short-toed coucal is just slightly shorter ! Maybe it has forgotten to trim its hind toe? Anyway the above bird was said to be a Greater Coucal.

If you have attended waders workshops before, you may recalled that some experts would have advised you to look at their legs.
ID clues: blackish bill, blackish legs and yellow 'socks' = Little Egret !

Collared Kingfisher

Despite its common status and noisy presence sometimes we need to give this kingfisher some due recognition as well.

A Black Kite eating its prey while in flight

Black Kite with a white face - most likely a juvenile as described by some field guides.

Brahminy Kite

More often than not you will see this kite thermalling in the sky rather than on a perch.

More forest birds' photos coming your way - stay tune.....