My best photo of the year 2020

From Vincent Van Gough to the modern day "Ah Pek" like me, humans have been fascinated with the beauty of nature that unfold right in front of their eyes. Whether it's on canvas or in digital pixels, we immortalised those moments and derive immense satisfaction from watching them again and again. I had those moments recently when a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle decided to have a little fun chasing a juvenile Brahminy Kite. 

There are a few reasons why I have chosen the above photo as my best for the year 2020. 

First, the immense size of a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle as compared to a juvenile Brahminy Kite is clearly visible here. It dwarfs over many times the size of the juvenile Brahminy Kite, especially the length of its wings.

Second, the vivid colors and the uniformity of plumage of the juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle truly depict the beauty of a raptor, in this case a juvenile raptor.

Third, the endoskeleton on the right wing of the juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle can almost be seen here, holding steadily the majestic wings of the raptor.

Fourth, usually photos of a wildlife in action does not always happened as you wished. It's spontaneous. You will need to be at the right place and at the the right time to capture those moments. Could this be a million dollar Nat. Geo shot ? Nah ! probably not quite yet.

The photo below is equally fascinating, showing the continuation of the pursuit between a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle and a juvenile Brahminy Kite from above. The tail of the juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle is like an exotic hand fan opening with tiny feathers-like petals emerging at its base. Although the upper plumage of the raptors may not be as spectacular as their underwings but nature has its reasons for such arrangements. 

The above photos were taken in the state of Kedah, West Peninsular Malaysia.

An art is just not what you see. It reflects your inner soul and is something that makes you dance with a different kind of happiness.

Differentiating a Jungle Myna from Javan Myna

It has been well written that Jungle Myna once roam Peninsular Malaysia in large numbers until the Javan Myna came and occupied some of its territories. In Klang Valley, there are probably only 2 percent of Jungle Myna left in the entire myna population here. Recently some Jungle Mynas paid a visit to the concrete jungle of my neighbourhood. 

JUNGLE MYNA

One of the key features to determine a Jungle Myna is the dark patch at the base of its bill. Some photos even show that the bill base at times look bluish in color.

They are probably the descendants of the original / native population of Jungle Mynas in KL.

Most of them have bright yellow iris like the ones here.

There were just 2 - 3 of them. So far they were not seen fetching any nesting materials but from their numbers seen here it is safe to say that they might have breed somewhere nearby.

In a shade, their plumage may look more greyish. 

Most of them are quite approachable - probably due to their constant contacts with humans.

Under more light, their mantle, scapulars and covert feathers are more brownish like the one above. 

The colors of their belly are said to be paler / more whitish towards the vent.

In the avian world, we can't discount the existence of hybrids. Some of them probably may have some Javan Myna genetic code in them.

For comparison, here are some Jungle Myna photos taken from the wild.

The above photo was taken at a rice field in Penang recently.

The one below here was taken from Perlis.

It looks like the iris color of its wild cousins are less intense as compared with the ones in Klang Valley. The overall greyish plumage are uniformly spread throughout as well. That could meant that the ones in the concrete jungle of KL are not really 100 percent / pure breed. 

JAVAN MYNA

Here is a typical looking Javan Myna

The head crest appears less bushier as compared to a Jungle Myna.

They too are used to human presence.

From the above photos, you can see that their iris are more whitish as compared to the Jungle Mynas. The more brownish color of their covert feathers and primaries on this Javan Myna probably mean that it could be a hybrid Javan Myna as well.

Note its underbelly colors which are more greyish through out.

How on earth did it manage to find a centipede on a road side?

Here is a Javan Myna photo taken from the field.

The above photo was taken at Malim Nawar, Perak recently.

There are a few anomalies though.

Not sure how to define the above Myna.

Note: finally experts have been able to identify the above myna as an imm Jungle Myna

Note its overall brownish colors.

The above photos are most likely the ones of a juvenile

THE AVIAN WORLD IS FULL OF SURPRISES. GO OUT THERE AND ENJOY THEM !

Identification and Aging of Lesser Sand Plover (Charadrius mongolus)

 According to most literatures, there are currently 5 subspecies of  Lesser Sand Plover (LSP). They are as follow:

i) Charadrius mongolus mongolus - breed in more easterly countries eg Siberia

ii) Charadrius mongolus stegmanni - breed in more easterly countries eg Siberia

iii) Charadrius mongolus pamirensis - breed in more westerly countries 

iv) Charadrius mongolus atrifrons - breed in more westerly countries

v) Charadrius mongolus schaeferi -  breed in more westerly countries

According to Avibase website:

C.m mongolus - from East Siberia & Russian Far East; winters from Taiwan to Australia.

C.m stegmanni - from Kamchatka to Chukotsk Peninsula; winters to Australia

C.m atrifrons - from the Himalayas & Southern Tibet; winters from India to Sumatra

C.m schaeferi - from eastern Tibet to Southern Mongolia; winters from Thailand to Greater Sunda

Here are some of the basic feather tracts of a LSP view from  above.

Aging of Lesser Sand Plover (LSP)

Unlike many passerine / song birds which shed their juvenile plumage and molt straight into adult plumage, LSP like most waders are birds that molt twice per year i.e they would have two adult plumages - adult winter and adult breeding plumage.

According to Dave Bakewell, a local expert on shorebirds/waders here, "an adult LSP in non-breeding plumage has an irregular appearance of the wing coverts as compared to the neat, similar-sized coverts of a juvenile". This is because juvenile feathers develop all at the same time and as such they tend to look neat and uniform in shape and size. Adult feathers on the other hand often appear haphazard due to the different stages of growth or wear.

The above is a juvenile LSP

Inexperienced observers often tend to identify scruffy birds as juveniles and neat ones as adults, but it's more often the other way around, said Bakewell. As juvenile feathers are smaller and uniformly aged than adults, they typically look neat and "well arranged".

In autumn, adults can easily be told from juveniles by the uneven trailing edge of the wing, caused by new feathers growing out and the presence of "unmolted", ragged-ended old feathers.

According to Bakewell, all waders except juveniles (of most species) undergo a complete moult in the autumn, like the one above and below.

However there are a few exceptions. I have noticed that some adults do keep some of their post summer plumage like these ones below:

According to Bakewell, those which still have traces of their summer plumage are most likely LSP.

Identifying Lesser Sand Plover (LSP)

There are a few notable field marks which have been identified by literatures to described a LSP or more importantly to differentiate them from a Greater Sand Plover (GSP). The important characteristics are;

i) the shape and length of the bills

ii) the shape and length of the body

iii) the color of the legs

iv) the size of the eyes

i) the shape and length of the bills

LSP's bill is generally shorter and more blunt tipped than GSP. However, it is also reported that there are some subspecies of GSP which bill has similar length to a larger LSP. When this happens, literature suggested that we look at the bluntness of the tip of the bill.

Apparently, the more westernly/southernly LSP of the C.m schaeferi race for example are characterised by relatively longer bills than the northern/eastern C.m mongolus LSP.

ii) the shape and length of the body

Structurally, a GSP has longer body than a LSP and in flight has broader wings. There are times, however, a photo may caused some disillusioned like the photo below:

I have initially thought that the bird on the left is a GSP which appears to have longer legs and body but alas both of them are actually LSP as pointed out by the waders experts here.

iii) the color of the legs

The color of the legs of a LSP is generally darker, ranging from black to grey while in a GSP, it is much paler, ranging from yellowish to light grey.

 

iv) the size of the eyes

The size of eyes of a LSP is relatively smaller than a GSP.

In terms of plumage, most GSP would complete its feather molt during their southern migration, according to Bakewell. The one in the middle of the photo below is a GSP. The photo was taken in August 2020. 

 Hope you have enjoyed reading the above writeup as much as I have bringing it to you !