GAME: name that bird!

[mvecht]

Struggling to find relevant new subjects but please have a go at this one.

[Galana]

3 hours ago, mvecht said:

Struggling to find relevant new subjects

I know the feeling well. I have let it lie a while to give others an opportunity before hazarding my guess.

I suggest it is a Crested Oropendola possibly seen on one of your trips to Costa Rica or Trinidad.

[Soukous]

8 minutes ago, Galana said:

I suggest it is a Crested Oropendola

 

ditto 

[mvecht]

@Galana@SoukousI can only agree . Photographed in Tobago

[Galana]

Does this mean I have to go again?

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

It's morning in East Asia. Four of the students fired an identification across the globe, attempting to outdo one another.

 

As three of them were on an international field trip in 2019 during which this species was observed, it was familiar to them.

 

To the great credit of two, they suggested holding off posting an identification reply. They initially commented that doing so would allow others to participate.

 

Two minutes later, someone else typed: “It will help Tom who only has photos of rubbish birds!”

 

By “rubbish”, they're expressing  “uninteresting” or “ordinary”.

 

One 14 year old commented that the English common name made them all laugh, imagining what the name unintentionally describes.

 

Typical teenage humor. Ha!

 

As yours truly has never observed this species, I appreciate the image. Such striking hues!

 

                  Tom K.

[Galana]

8 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

They initially commented that doing so would allow others to participate.

I think that is very sporting of your team despite the rather unkind and untrue observation of 'someone else'.

 

To cheer them on before too late here is another image to tickle their fancy.

 

[mvecht]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

 

To cheer them on before too late here is another image to tickle their fancy.

 

Substantial clue

I will hold on for a while as I am running out of photos to use.

[Tom Kellie]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

To cheer them on before too late here is another image to tickle their fancy.

 

~ @Galana:

 

It's evening in East Asia. You've brought mirth to my former students.

 

Their command of English (they're all Hong Kong natives who are enrolled in English language schools) is adequate to catch puns, plays on words, and subtle humor.

 

When your quote above was sent to them, there was much laughter and appreciation.

 

They then riffed on the sound (and English common name) including being “ticked off to not be first” and “ticking another species off the list” and “blue plumage tickles your fancy”.

 

A not suitable for a family Web site term was employed in place of “fancy”.

 

From about seven teenagers to you, @Galanatheir cheerful laughter in the wit above.

 

They love to ‘get it’ in another language.

 

Learning is fun! Thank you.

 

            Tom K.

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Tom Kellie said:

A not suitable for a family Web site term was employed in place of “fancy”.

I can imagine. I was not always a Laowai.

This clue has now been almost tickled to death and perhaps should be caged before it is stolen. The Lo fans are gathering and the westerners have proverbs too such as bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

On behalf of several others — Cyornis tickelliae, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, 梯氏仙鹟.

 

The image of someone tickling a frog catching a blue fly sparks giggles in East Asia.

 

What a name! What a species! What images!

 

         Tom K.

[Galana]

Correct as you know.

Over to you.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

Thank you. We wondered where you might have photographed Cyornis tickelliae.

 

Nepal? India? Sri Lanka? Elsewhere?

 

***********************

 

One hopes that this species will pass muster with East Asian teenagers as it's not in the least a ‘rubbish bird’.

 

             Tom K.

 

 

 

[Galana]

3 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

We wondered where you might have photographed Cyornis tickelliae.

That particular bird was seen in Pench Jungle Camp, actually on our 'tent', adjacent to Pench National Park, India.

 

If your young students are fans of Kipling's Jungle Book (Disney Cartoon version) they will love Pench.

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

Your post above is highly appreciated, both text and images.

 

It gives depth to the sighting, and ties it to a beloved literary work.

 

What you've so thoughtfully posted has been relayed to social media for the enjoyment of the the teenage naturalists.

 

The look of your Pench tent somehow brings to mind the configuration of the Tydon Bush Camp tents adjacent to Sabi Sands, South Africa.

 

An explanation has been included of the “Seoni (M.P.)” notation on the sign, including information about Madhya Pradesh.

 

Observing such a lovely species on one's tent — therein is the allure of travel. 

 

Many thanks for posting the above, which enrich the overall “Name that bird!” experience.

 

                  Tom K.

[mvecht]

Nice to see a bird mainly found in China

[Galana]

16 minutes ago, mvecht said:

Nice to see a bird mainly found in China

Indeed it makes a nice change.

I am well out of my comfort zone there having only been to the Central Kingdom once in 1988.

No Field Guides to help me so I am left with Galana's Law on bird ID. WYSIWII.

A Parrotbill with a rufous wing would be Rufous-winged Parrotbill but I don't think there is such a thing. Mr Google suggests it could be Vinous-throated Parrotbill so I will go for that and test my 'law'.

 

In the meantime in case @Tom Kellieare bored over a local bird and need a weekend project may I set them task?

Stretching the parameters of "Name that bird" to the limit but what kind of flightless bird would I find in Iceland?

[Tom Kellie]

41 minutes ago, Galana said:

A Parrotbill with a rufous wing would be Rufous-winged Parrotbill but I don't think there is such a thing. Mr Google suggests it could be Vinous-throated Parrotbill so I will go for that and test my 'law'.

 

~ @Galana:

 

Right-o!

 

It's indeed Sinosuthora webbiana, Vinous-throated Parrotbill. It was photographed in the Beijing Olympic Forest Park in 2013.

 

Congratulations! The shuttlecock is back into your side of the court.

 

Seldom observed although common, the species has a reputation for being cute, whatever that might mean.

 

It hops, makes short dashes from branch to branch, active yet sufficiently slow to allow for photographs.

 

****************************

 

It seemed that a typical Chinese species would allay teenage wisecracks about a ‘rubbish species’.

 

Dare I mention to the students that there's a British supermarket chain named Iceland, in addition to the volcanic island nation?

 

Tom K.

[Galana]

40 minutes ago, Tom Kellie said:

the species has a reputation for being cute, whatever that might mean.

I almost commented on that. It does have an eastern look about it that many westerners find 'cute'.

 

43 minutes ago, Tom Kellie said:

there's a British supermarket chain named Iceland, in addition to the volcanic island nation?

You should provide all tools available so don't forget the Iceland Bank that failed so spectacularly in 2008.

[Galana]

44 minutes ago, Tom Kellie said:

Congratulations! The shuttlecock is back into your side of the court.

Wow. If ever I welcomed further proof of Galana's Law I now have it. Quod erat demonstrandum indeed.

My ancestor Isaac Newton would be proud of me.

 

I must be careful as to what I select from now on.

 

[mvecht]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

 

Stretching the parameters of "Name that bird" to the limit but what kind of flightless bird would I find in Iceland?

 

If you are strecthing the parameters as much as I think you are, there can be multiple answers to the problem. It is all a matter of taste.

[mvecht]

@Galana  Looks like we are back in the Albertine Rift?

[Galana]

6 hours ago, mvecht said:

Looks like we are back in the Albertine Rift?

It's very hard to keep away. Just over a year since I was there. How things change so quickly.

I am impatient to get back. My two 'families' (they both adopted me) are happily OK so that is good to know.

[inyathi]

@GalanaYellow-eyed black flycatcher (Melaenornis ardesiacus)?

[Galana]

11 hours ago, inyathi said:

Yellow-eyed black flycatcher (Melaenornis ardesiacus)?

Correct. Another prime example of Galana's Law.

 

As @mvechtsaid, an Albertine Rift Endemic which I regularly see in Bwindi.

 

Your turn.