Orange-Backed Woodpecker (Reinwardtipicus validus)

Orange-backed woodpeckers are one of the many species of woodpeckers which can be found in Malaysia and Thailand as well. A fact which Wikipedia needs to correct since it only mentioned Indonesia.  As there are not many literature about orange-backed woodpeckers in the web so i thought i would try to give a brief account of these wonderful woodpeckers.

I have always like to observe woodpeckers not only because of their bright plumage but also due to their peculiar behavior and flight patterns. Known for their habit of pecking into tree trunks to search for insect larvaes or as a means of communicating territorial possesion, they have also pecked into tree trunks to search for suitable nest i.e burrowing into tree trunks to be more precise. Some woodpeckers have also been observed occupying abandoned tree holes. Measuring about 30cm, orange-backed woodpeckers can be found in the forest and lowland jungles. Both male and female have a distinct dichotomy whereby male has a red crown and female has a blackish crown. Other distinct features which can be observed are the whitish  back on the female and orangey eyes on the male as opposed to black eyes of females. Locally named as "Belatuk Ranum' and is a fully protected bird.

The above two photos are male orange-backed woodpeckers. They are observed flying from a tree trunk to another.

They are followed by this female orange-backed woodpecker.

Later both were together on a tree trunk. Could it be that they were looking for a suitable trunk for nesting or perhaps they were just looking for an early morning snack? These photos were taken recently at about 8.15am (May 2011)

After this photo was taken both flew away to another tree trunk deeper in the forest.

Common mammals, reptiles and fauna of birding trips

There are times when wild animals would appear on one of the jungle trails which make birding trips even more exciting. Here are some which are commonly encountered:

Look who is lurking amongst the branches? This is a huge water monitor lizard waiting for unsuspecting birds.

These are long-tailed macaques. They could be found in most jungles and some even at urban parks. Ancient Egyptians must have learn from these primates about using eye shadows. Can be very adaptive in urban living and quite aggressive when comes to food - have seen one snatched food right from a tourist hand at Batu Caves.

Walking with its nose and tails up!! This is a male pig-tailed macaque. A nomadic macaque which can be found in the forest and often used to pluck coconuts by villages.

This is a dusky langur. It is generally greyish and has white rings around its eyes. Have seen one carry a newborn which is usually bright golden-yellow in colour. Can be found in coastal regions or secondary forest.

This is a Himalayan Striped Squirrel. Can be found in the forest but most which i have seen are in the sub-montane regions.

These are plantain squirrels. A common squirrel one would see in the forest as well as gardens, orchards, parks and plantations. The second photo shows that it is trying to chew off the bark of a trunk - it could be looking for some vege matters in its diets or the trunk could have some medicinal properties in it.

This is a giant squirrel. Although found mainly in the forest canopy but some can be seen lower when they are searching for food like this one. 

One of the most common flying lizard which you will encounter in the forest trails.

These are Rajah Brooke Butterflies. A much sort after butterflies for collectors.

A beautiful congregation of butterflies picking up minerals from the jungle trails. 

Birding in Serendah

A couple of days back i decided to do some birding at one of my favourite spots. Birding started from 7.30am - 12.30pm. This time instead of the usual trail i decided to try a new trail which looks abandoned and deeper in the jungle. Besides been greeted with the sound of Great Argus calling and white-rumped sharma whistling, i have also encountered a black snake, squirrels and at least 3 types of monkeys. Here are some of the photos i have managed to capture:

A Male Asian Fairy-Bluebird - taken at abt 7.30am. It was still quite dark.

Its already late April and this fellow is still around! An Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Next up is this female Chestnut-Beasted Malkoha. Look at its shiny plumage.

Tis is a male orange-bellied flower pecker. Quite a lot of these birds here and they are quite friendly too.

A male buff-rumped woodpecker. Quite common here as well.

Looking for some worms in a dead tree-trunk. I saw at least two of them.

This is a male Ruby-Cheeked Sunbird - back view

Front view.

This is the female ruby cheeked sunbird.

A Dark-Necked Tailor Bird - taken at the heat of the late morning sun.

A Forest Wagtail - taken on my way back from the trail.



Birding at Malaysia's National Park (Part 2)

27 March 2011
On second day everyone were up very early and feeling very excited as usual. Our group leader just came back after having seen the large frogmouth. Now is our turn to get on the jeep (7.30am) and headed towards the foohill of Mount Tahan (Gunung Tahan).  After about a 14km (15 minutes) of cool ride we were dropped at a place where the Malaysian Mahseer (Kelah) fishes are rear. We were informed that they have a few kelahs weighting abt 8 kilo each in the sanctuary. That's big enough to feed an entire orang asli(aboriginies) family for a day! After some sight-seeing session, we were down to birding again and here are some of the fantastic birds which i have managed to capture on the LCD screen:

The breeding sanctuary for the Malaysian Mahseer.

This is a juvenile hairy-backed bulbul. It was actually flapping its wings when i took its picture.

 

This is one of his parent sitting nearby. That is why the flapping behavior of the juvenile which was actually begging for food.

This is a white-chested babbler. One of the many babblers seen and heard in this trip. I just managed to get two decent shots of this babbler.

This is one of the gem of the forest. One of my lifer of course. The flight of this male Asian Paradise Flycatcher (White Morph) is like some fairy dancing in the forest. Looks even better in real life and is reportedly harder to be seen than the rufous morph. 

This is a grey-headed canary flycatcher. Although seen a few times in my birding trips but never really had a decent shot of this bird.

This is a large wren babbler. It was actually singing close to the trail and near the forest floor. It was spotted on our way back from the kelah sanctuary. Again its one of my lifers.

This is the back view of the same bird.

This is the front view - it looks better in photo than real life - probably because it is well hidden under the dark forest floor.

This is a Dark-Throated Oriole. A really beautiful but elusive bird .

This is a male Scarlet-Rumped Trogon. If not for the twig, this would be a great picture. A much sort after bird for photography hobbist due to its beautiful plumage.

Not sure whether this is a female scarlet-rumped trogon or a juvenile male. To me it looks more like a juv male.

This looks like a purple-naped sunbird.

This looks more like a little spiderhunter than a thick-billed spiderhunter as reported by one of the birders in my group.  The color around its eyes are more whitish as compared to the yellowish of a thick-billed spiderhunter.

This is a grey-breasted spiderhunter. It was actually beside the little spiderhunter, trying to chase away a green snake which was trying to eat one of its mates.

This is a forest wagtail. It was reported as an uncommon migrant and a winter visitor (Allen J, 1993). As its name suggest, it is usually seen near small streams of forest trails. I wonder whether my fellow birders notice  its right leg ?

Not sure what had happened but its right leg - there are no toes - deformed? but certaintly not handicapped as he kept swaying its body and tail from left to right just like business as usual!

 28th March 2011
The last day was rather slow as compared to the first two days and yielded only a few interesting birds. Did some birding for only about 1 hour before turning back to pack and head for home. Here are some of them:

This is a male Raffles Malkoha

This is a Common Iora but look at its bright plumage which most of the birds here have.

This is a black-thighed falconet

A male Buff-rumped Woodpecker. Look at its claws!

There are also a few unidentified birds such as these ones:

The one on the right.....pigeon? malkoha? female Asian fairy-blue bird?

This one is thought to be a maroon-breasted philentoma.... quite a difficult bird to spot.

And this is thought to be a black-naped monarch.

In total we have seen and heard about 119 birds for the three days. Here are the list of birds:

Arctic Warbler

Ashy Minivet

Asian Fairy-bluebird

Asian Glossy Starling

Asian Paradise-flycatcher

Banded Bay Cuckoo

Banded Broadbill

Banded Kingfisher

Banded Pitta

Barn Swallow

Black Hornbill

Black Magpie

Black-and-red Broadbill

Black-and-yellow Broadbill

Black-bellied Malkoha

Black-capped Babbler

Black-headed Bulbul

Black-naped Monarch

Black-thighed Falconet

Blue-crowned Hanging-parrot

Blue-eared Barbet

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Blue-winged Leafbird

Bronzed Drongo

Brown Barbet

Brown Fulvetta

Brown Shrike

Buff-rumped Woodpecker

Buff-vented Bulbul

Changeable Hawk-eagle

Checker-throated Woodpecker

Chestnut-bellied Malkoha

Chestnut-breasted Malkoha

Chestnut-naped Forktail

Chestnut-rumped Babbler

Chestnut-winged Babbler

Common Iora

Common Myna

Cream-vented Bulbul

Crested Fireback

Crested Jay

Crested Serpent-eagle

Crimson-winged Woodpecker

Dark-necked Tailorbird

Dark-throated Oriole

Diard's Trogon

Drongo Cuckoo

Eastern Crowned-warbler

Emerald Dove

Ferruginous Babbler

Fiery Minivet

Finsch's Bulbul

Fluffy-backed Tit-babbler

Forest Wagtail

Garnet Pitta

Gold-whiskered Barbet

Great Hornbill

Great Slaty Woodpecker

Greater Coucal

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Grey-cheeked Bulbul

Grey-headed Babbler

Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher

Grey-headed Fish-eagle

Grey-rumped Treeswift

Hairy-backed Bulbul

Helmeted Hornbill

Hill Myna

Horsfield's Babbler

Japanese Sparrowhawk

Large Frogmouth

Large Woodshrike

Large Wren-babbler

Large-billed Crow

Lesser Cuckooshrike

Lesser Fish-eagle

Lesser Green Leafbird

Long-billed Spiderhunter

Malayan Peacock-pheasant

Maroon Woodpecker

Maroon-breasted Philentoma

Mountain Imperial-pigeon

Orange-backed Woodpecker

Oriental Honey-buzzard

Oriental Honey-buzzard

Oriental Magpie-robin

Plain - throated Sunbird

Plain Sunbird

Plaintive Cuckoo

Purple-naped Sunbird

Raffles's Malkoha

Red-bearded Bee-eater

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Rufous-bellied Eagle

Rufous-crowned Babbler

Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

Scaly-crowned Babbler

Scarlet-rumped Trogon

Short-tailed Babbler

Silver-rumped Spinetail

Slender-billed Crow

Sooty-capped Babbler

Spectacled Bulbul

Spotted Fantail

Straw-headed Bulbul

Streaked Bulbul

Striped Tit-babbler

Stripe-throated Bulbul

Sultan Tit

Whiskered Treeswift

White-chested Babbler

White-crowned Hornbill

White-rumped Shama

Yellow-bellied Bulbul

Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker

Yellow-crowned Barbet

Yellow-vented Bulbul

Yellow-vented Flowerpecker