Kit & Herman Year 2

[Kitsafari]

485/KL13 : Puff-backed Bulbul

 

Another songbird from the bulbul family, the puff-backed bulbul is also known as the crested brown bulbul or the puff-backed brown bulbul. Also distributed in peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. This is a rather unremarkable bird except for its lilting songs and crest. 

Unlike the hairy-backed bulbul which is listed as least concern, the puff-backed cousin is listed as near threatened mainly due to habitat loss. 

 

[Kitsafari]

486/KL14 : Streaked-earred Bulbul

 

another songbird from the family, the streaked-eared bulbul is found only in Thailand and northern and central Malay Peninsula to southern Indochina. 

 

[Kitsafari]

487/KL15 : Yellow-bellied Bulbul

 

A very attractive bird, the yellow-bellied bulbul is gregarious and hung around a lot while we were there, probably hoping for some food. I kinda felt a little guilty as it flew in a few times, and sat there, chasing away the babblers.

Another songbird from the bulbul family Pcyconotidae, it is native to Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. 

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Galana]

Coming along nicely with some epic birds. 500 within sight?

[Kitsafari]

488/KL16: Black-thigh Falconet

 

I was thrilled to see this tiny raptor - one of the smallest birds of prey. It's estimated to be between 5.5 and 6.3 inch and its wingspan is around 11-13 inches which makes it as small as a sparrow. It perched where the two dollarbirds had perched earlier, and it didn't seem the Asian rollers were very happy about it, as they were calling very loudly. The falconet looked as it it had something in its claws but my camera didn't have that reach. this was the raptor that the spiderhunter was harassing. 

The falconet is found in Sumatra, Java, Malaysia, Thailand and Myamar, and Borneo. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

 

@Galana  inching closer....

 

[Kitsafari]

489/KL17 : Banded Broadbill

 

Broadbills are one of my favourite birds. Colourful with a usually bright big paddle-looking beak that looks almost like the big round nose on a clown's face. 

The banded broadbill is one of the shyer ones and one of the larger broadbills. This purplish, yellowish and black bird was flitting around the treetops trying to make us out. The banded is found in Indochina, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Borneo. It eats mainly insects and caterpillars. 

My first sighting of this species. 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

490/KL18 : Black-and-red Broadbill

 

a pair came flying out of the dense treetops and led us on a bit of chase. This location was close to Krau, and was along the way to the reserve. Found in southern Myanmar, Thailand, southern Cambodia and Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. I found it a challenge to shoot this bright red-chested bird which has a bluish creamy beak.

 

[Kitsafari]

491/KL19 : Dusky Broadbill

 

a noisy family of the dusky broadbills came flying onto the trees along the road. The broadbill's body is charcoal grey and has a pale-yellow throat but its the red bill that stands out. the light was bad so I was lucky weng Chun was there to pinpoint them. fortunately, a pair was kind enough to pose for me.

this is my first sighting of this very attractive broadbill as well. It's distributed in southern Myanmar, Thailand, parts of Indochina, peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Kitsafari

[TonyQ]

Your total is getting close to the 500!

The Broadbills are beautiful.

[PeterHG]

Beautiful additions, I just love the tiny falconet. And yes, approaching the magic 500 !

[xelas]

3 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

inching closer....

 

@Kitsafari that is The Understatement Of The Big Year ! You are closing in giant strides!! And with beautiful photos ofcolourful birds on top. Yet the pick of the bunch must be the Falconet.

[Kitsafari]

Thanks @TonyQ @PeterHG @xelas

 

the falconet was special for me too. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

492/KL20 : Black-and-Yellow Broadbill

 

This was the last of the four broadbill species we saw that day and although I was very happy with all four, this was a special pair. The BYB are much smaller than the dusky and the banded, and it is listed as near threatened. we had seen one earlier but couldn't get any shots. But at a bridge just before entering the reserve, a pair came flying in towards us. and more surprisingly, the pair stayed for a while and weren't scared off even though I moved slowly closer to them. Found in southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and parts of Borneo and extinct in Singapore, its numbers are declining due to rapid habitat loss. 

 

 Male (with a full black collar)

 

 

with the female below (with a half black collar)

\

[Kitsafari]

493/KL21 : Raffles's Malkoha

 

I was so pleased when the malkohas finally came out, and the pair perched out in the open as well. The malkohas  are in the large group of cuckoos  but are not parasitic breeders. THese are all Asian tropical birds. the Raffles's malkohas are a smaller species in the family and are found in southern Thailand into Peninsular Malaysia, SUmatra and all over Borneo. They have been extinct in Singapore since the 1950s when forests were all cut down. The female is one of the more beautiful female birds I've seen, although the male is just as lovely. 

Both male and female raffles's have the blue eye-ring and bars across the tails, 

 

male: 

 

female: 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

494/KL22 : Rufous-collared kingfisher

 

This kingfisher species is a skittish bird found mainly in dense forested areas. We were at the hide trying to call for the black hornbill and a banded kingfisher that Weng Chun had heard. suddenly he waved pretty vigorously at me to go over, and there it was, a tiny bundle of orange sitting on a twig, and of course, well blocked by other branches and leaves. and in the low light, my camera struggled to focus, hence the shots were blurred. Still , i was delighted to see it as I didn't get a proper look last year in the darker southern Thailand forests. 

This is a near threatened species, again due to declining habitat in southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and sumatra. 

 

 

 

 

and this is the last of my species photographed in Krau Wildlife Reserve. In total, we saw and heard 38 species, including a red-bearded bee-eater, a black-backed oriental kingfisher (the only kingfisher in Singapore I'm missing), black hornbill (which I saw fly down into the valley), and some species which I had seen and didn't think of getting shots such as the purple heron, white-throated kingfisher, ashy minivet.

 

[Galana]

Amazing.

3 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

hence the shots were blurred.

If that is 'blurred' I am totally unfocused.

Beautiful Broadbills.

[Dave Williams]

A lovely selection of colourful birds Kit. I remember the thrill of capturing a Malkoha in camera on a trip to Sri Lanka.

[michael-ibk]

Great photos of some really stunning birds!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @Galana @Dave Williams @michael-ibk. 

 

Pressing on with home birds that got neglected in the count for a while, plus some EBCs of birds that I had waited to see if I could get better shots of.

 

495/SG154:  Violet Cuckoo, Singapore Quarry

 

Taken on August 1, the uncommonly-seen cuckoo made a surprising appearance near the entrance to the quarry. This is really a winter visitor but some have taken up permanent residency in Singapore. A very shy bird with purple body except for some white bars on the belly and vent. It has an orange bill. The females look like bronze cuckoos but have a yellow bill instead of black (for the bronze cuckoos). 
Found in  south and southeast Asia as well as southern China. 

 

Male

 

female: 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

496/SG155 : House Crow

 

Found all over Singapore, including my neighbourhood. They were absent in my area for a short while as the Asian Koels were pretty active here (koels are parasitic brooders on crows' nests) but they returned, and one of them was injured and couldn't fly so I sent it to the local Animal Care and Rescue centre. hope it's recovered. 

 

Yishun Dam , September 2019

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

497/SG156 : Cut-throat Finch, Jurong Lake Gardens 

 

Another African species released in Singapore from the bird trade. The species has been seen on our island since 2010 so they must be doing alright. Found mainly in sub-saharan Africa, the male has a bright red band across its throat - hence the bloody name! It's also called the bearded finch or the ribbon finch. 

 

male

female: 

 

[Kitsafari]

498/SG157: Black-and-white Mannikin, Lorong Halus

 

Native to central and west Africa, the black-and-white mannikins are yet another species introduced to Singapore via the caged bird trade. The mannikins usually hang around with the waxbills and other munias early in the morning when they emerge to feed on the fresh grass seeds. This was taken in August 2019. 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

499/SG158 : Javan Munia, Lorong Halus

 

Found in the same vicinity around the same time was the Javan munia, which was introduced to Singapore in the 1920s. It was breeding very well but in recent days the species has become an uncommon resident and not seen as often. No research has been done and no speculation was made. It could  have been the proliferation of other waxbills that are competing for declining habitat and grassy seeds. 

 

[Kitsafari]

500/SG159 : Mangrove Pitta, Pulau Ubin, June 2019

 

For my inaugural 500th bird (I never thought I could ever reach this level!), I've picked yet another pitta species - my favourite of bird species. A rare resident in Singapore, the mangrove pitta has lost much of its habitat as the country has destroyed 95% of its mangrove areas as it expanded its land area and filled up those coastal areas with tonnes and tonnes of imported sand (such that some countries have banned the exports of sand). Recently, the government finally decided to preserve a small virgin mangrove area at the northern part of Singapore, but the development of the surrounding areas could affect the health of the mangroves.

Pulau Ubin, an island off the main island, was thankfully left much undeveloped and that was where we headed one Sunday morning. It's probably the pitta's last stronghold. The resident mangrove pitta hangs around a stream and we spent a fruitless morning looking for it. Just as we were leaving, the pitta called loudly - sitting in the open on a branch next to the stream. we did have a fun time following it as it flew along the stream but finally gave up when it went down to the stream. 

It looks much like the blue-winged pitta except the black band across its eyes is thinner and its back is more brownish than greenish. There is no black stripe on its crown as the blue-winged has. It can be a winter visitor from south-western China and is a winter visitor also to the rest of Southeast Asia and to north-west Australia.