Kit & Herman Year 2

[Kitsafari]

545/CM02 : Ashy Bulbul

 

We were looking for a fantail when a flock of birds flew across a deep valley, with a few stopping for only a couple of seconds on a bare treetop mid-way. I think I was the only one who managed a snap or two although Herman had walked further down and managed to get a shot of one resting in the open. 

Equipped with a tousled hairdo, the bulbul looks rather attractive. It is found in the Himalayan ranges of India, down into Indochina and southeast Asia. The Malayan and Sumatra ashy bulbuls do not have the bright green yellow panes on their wings that the others do.

 

[Kitsafari]

546/CM03 : Silver-eared Laughingthrush

 

Not the best looking laughingthrush in my opinion, especially since the other species seen here were pretty stunning. this species is distributed in eastern Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos and southern China. It was once considered a sub-species of the chestnut-crowned laughingthrush.

 

[Kitsafari]

547/CM04: Orange-bellied Leafbird

 

Also distributed in the Himalayan ranges through to Indochina and Malaysia, and southern China. The female orange-bellied leafbird looks very much like the blue-winged leafbird but has a stronger orange belly. It moved very quietly at the top of the trees but the orange flash alerted us to its silent presence. 

 

[Kitsafari]

250/CM05 : Large Niltava

 

Already in my Frasers Hill count, we saw both the male and female this time. The male was shyer and was in fact the first bird that appeared but at the early morning hours and cold temperatures, the entire area was engulfed in a thick fog so taking photos were very challenging. The male only appeared that one time in the open for a few seconds. The female was more obliging, resting on a stump, but preferred to give us its back profile only 

 

male: 

 

female: 

 

[Kitsafari]

97/CM06 : Long-tailed shrike

 

We saw the shrike in the padi fields at the low lands of the mountains. this was in my Singapore count. 

 

[Kitsafari]

548/CM07 : Black-backed Sibia 

 

The black-backed sibia is a very gregarious bird. It moves around in a rather large group, though it didn't find much favour with us as it kept dispersing other species when the flock came flying into the area. It is found only in parts of eastern Myanmar, northern Thailand and Laos. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

549/CM08 : Davison's Leaf Warbler

 

Like all warblers, this tiny bird was a toughie to photograph. it was flitting from branch to branch, then tree to tree and had us all running around like fools just to get a good shot of it. the warbler used to be part of the old world warblers. The cute bird is distributed only in the subtropical or tropical moist forests of southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

550/CM09 : Scarlet-faced Liocichla

 

A very Italian-sounding name, the species is a stunning bright red-faced bird and was quite a stealthy bird but gave up its apprehensions after the initial sneaking around on the slopes. Resident in northern eastern Myanmar, parts in northern Thailand, parts of Yunnan, Laos and northern Vietnam, its population is declining due, like in all the other species, to increasing habitat destruction. 

 

[Kitsafari]

288/CM10 : Yellow-browed Warbler

 

Already in my HK count. Looks almost like the davison's lead warbler except its bill is blacker and it has more black streaks on its wings. 

 

[Kitsafari]

551/CM11 : Blue-winged Minla

 

Only two persons (not me!) saw the minla hiding in the trees at Doi Lang, but fortunately, we saw the species again on our last day (more photos then). It is a sociable bird, travelling in groups. The species is distributed in the lowland and foothill forests of Himalayan ranges, eastern India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, southern China, Laos and Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

552/CM12 : Whiskered Yuhina

 

Doi Lang is considered to be the best place to see the whiskered yuhina, a species that is distributed along the himalayan ranges, north eastern India, western and northern Myanmar, northern Thailand, northern Laos and northern Vietnam and southern China.  Unfortunately, the species is a target hunted by livestock herders, according to Wikipedia. This pretty shy songbird is considered a species in the white-eye family. 

Like the barwing and the liocichla, we would not encounter the yuhina in the other mountains again. 

 

 

 

 

[TonyQ]

@Kitsafari

Well done on reaching 550 and then taking the lead. Some really beautiful photos in this last section, from both you and Herman.The Yuhina is stunning 

 

So you or @PeterHG ? I think it is going to be you, but either would be very worthy winners!

 

[PeterHG]

A grand total so far and more to come! I agree with @TonyQ about the Yuhina, but there were many beauties in the last bunch. Keep them coming.

[michael-ibk]

Stunning additions Kit! Especially love the one with the complicated Italian Name, and also the Spectacled Barwing - Beautiful!

[Kitsafari]

thanks much @TonyQ, @PeterHG @michael-ibk

 

TonyQ, for some reason I had thought your count was to 561 and that I had a few more to go before passing you. 

 

While waiting for Herman to pass his next batch of Chiangmai photos to me, I think I'll add some Singapore birds that have collected in the past few months. 

 

553/SG183 : Black Bittern, Satay by the Bay, December 4

 

This is a stunning winter visitor but so elusive! The black bittern is distributed in the Indian subcontinent, southern China, Southeast Asia and northern Australia with the northern bitterns migrating to join their resident cousins in SEA. 

 

Hunting

[Kitsafari]

554/SG184 : Indian Cuckoo, Bidadari, Dec 19

 

Despite its name, the Indian cuckoo is found - in addition to Indian subcontinent - in China, Korea, Southeast Asia down to Borneo and SUmatra. it looks almost like the oriental, himalayan and common cuckoos but have dark eyes and darker back and wings.

 

[Kitsafari]

555/SG185 : Ferruginous Flycatcher, Fort Canning Park, Dec 14

 

Otherwise known as Iron boy because of the rusty colours on its body, the ferruginous flycatcher is a winter visitor to our shores. It is found in China, southern parts of South Korea and Japan, Southeast Asia down to Java. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

556/SG186 :Thick-billed flowerpecker, Dairy Farm Nature Park, Dec 19

 

This is the only third sighting of this rather dull flowerpecker in Singapore, the last sighting of which was 5 years ago, which explained why the surge in interest in the species! And it's a resident species to boot, goes to show how few of them are left here. the bird flies high in the trees, making it a huge challenge to get a good shot; Hence, a record shot!

 

[Kitsafari]

557/SG187 : Grey-rumped Treeswift, Ang Mo Kio , NOvember 27

 

An iuncommon resident bird in our country, and a very pretty one, there was a small flock of them residing close to the public housing blocks. The species can be found in southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore to Indonesia.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

558/SG188 : Taiga Flycatcher, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Dec 3

 

The taiga flycatcher made its debut in Singapore in early December, choosing the botanic gardens for its first appearance. Naturally it attracted hordes of people trying to suss it out. Like the other flycatchers, it is a migrant bird, possibly flying in from its native land in Russia, or maybe northern Mongolia and northeastern China.It usually winters in INdia, south China and Thailand. Perhaps the storm winds blew them in or perhaps something's happening with their typical winter grounds and it is seeking new refuge, just like the openbills.

 

[Kitsafari]

559/SG189 : Japanese Tit, Pasir Ris park, Dec 2

 

Also making its first appearance in Singapore was a Japanese tit but we saw more of this species later in Chiangmai. The Japanese tit used to be a sub-species of the great tit but was split after studies showed the two species co-existed in the Russian Far East without intermingling or hybridisation. Found in northeastern China, far eastern Russian down to Indochina and northern Thailand and Myanmar. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

560/SG190 : Black-browed Reed Warbler, Lorong Halus, December 23

 

An uncommon migrant that comes from Siberia, Mongolia, northern parts of China, Japan and North Korea, the warbler winters to India, south China, Indochina and southeast Asia.

Its black brow can be seen quite clearly.

 

 

[Kitsafari]

561/SG191: Dusky Warbler, Yishun Pond at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, December 23

 

It's been an amazing year for birding in Singapore, with a number of rare or firsts of the species, including this pretty warbler. The warbler is a rare migrant, having visited Singapore only in 1994 and 1995.  No one knows why the warber would want to visit the hospital grounds, but the first horde of photographers caused consternation to patients and hospital visitors!

The species is found in east Eurasia, northern China, Siberia and winters in India, south China, Indochina and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. 

 

 

And that should be the last of our Singapore species. With only 2.5 days left to the start of 2020, and with us grounded with a very ill dog, we are unlikely to get any more new species unless one completely rare one turns up somewhere on our little red dot.

I'll be back with the next Chiangmai portion soon. 

 

 

[Tdgraves]

Oh dear @Kitsafari sending wishes for your poorly pooch

[TonyQ]

Sorry to hear about your dog @Kitsafari