GAME: name that bird!

[mvecht]

@Galana you got it!

@Tom KellieI did not realis that it was so common in your area. Otherwise I would have posted something different.

[inyathi]

14 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

The teenagers and yours truly posted nothing as this species is on almost every block in Chinese cities.

 

Looking in brush or around small trees, they're a confiding species.

@Tom Kellie That's good to know, I find it a little surprising, because whilst these birds are pretty ubiquitous in tropical and subtropical Asia, being a good songster they are not common anywhere in Vietnam, I hardly saw any on my trip there last year, as they have sadly almost all been trapped as cage birds, nice to know that isn't the case where you are.

 

Although, I too was confident that this was an Oriental Magpie Robin, I would point out that the BirdLife international website lists five species of magpie robins 

 

Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum 

Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis 

Philippine Magpie-robin Copsychus mindanensis 

Madagascar Magpie-robin Copsychus albospecularis 

Pelzeln's Magpie-robin Copsychus pica 

 

Although number 5 is a split from number 4, so some would still consider it a subspecies, the endangered Seychelles species does look noticeably different, in that it only has the white on the wings and is otherwise blue/black all over, so that one was easily ruled out, the others though are all pretty similar, unless someone can tell me what the difference is, I'm not sure I would be able to tell the Madagascar and the Oriental apart or the Philippine, I would have gone with Oriental purely because it was my first thought, I've seen plenty of them, and then after considering the others, I stuck with it, assuming purely on balance of probability, that @mvechtwouldn't have been to the Philippines and was more likely to have visited India and or maybe Sri Lanka or Southeast Asia, than Madagascar, though of course he could have been to the latter country, a few here have, though I have not as yet.

Edited March 21, 2021 by inyathi

[Kitsafari]

5 hours ago, inyathi said:

@Tom Kellie That's good to know, I find it a little surprising, because whilst these birds are pretty ubiquitous in tropical and subtropical Asia, being a good songster they are not common anywhere in Vietnam, I hardly saw any on my trip there last year, as they have sadly almost all been trapped as cage birds, nice to know that isn't the case where you are.

 

Although, I too was confident that this was an Oriental Magpie Robin, I would point out that the BirdLife international website lists five species of magpie robins 

 

Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum 

Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis 

Philippine Magpie-robin Copsychus mindanensis 

Madagascar Magpie-robin Copsychus albospecularis 

Pelzeln's Magpie-robin Copsychus pica 

 

 

 

I too immediately recognise the oriental magpie-robin which is fairly common here too as they have adapted very well to the urbanised areas in Singapore. In fact, we have a resident one in our neighourhood which until of late was roosting in my neighbour's mango tree.unfotunately, the neighbour decided to remove the mango tree, and  one felt swoop, remove the roosting place for many a bird species, as well as nesting place for the malaysian pied fantail and doves, and a beehive that attracted a couple of oriental honey buzzards which returned annually to our area. 

 

but the magpie-robin has moved to the other end of the neighbourhood, which I discovered just a few mornings ago, when during a dawn walk, heard its lovely melodic calls in the air.   

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @inyathi, @mvecht, @Galana, @Kitsafari:

 

Yes, Copsychus saularis throughout eastern China ranks as one of the most frequently observed species in settled areas.

 

Just as @Kitsafarihas noted about Singapore, Copsychus saularis has adapted well to urbanization throughout eastern China.

 

In the Hong Kong Wetland Park examples of the species are ubiquitous. Students on nature observation visits frequently mutter when spotting it: “Another one”.

 

When teaching in Central China south of the Qinling Mountains, this species would hop around in the landscaping beneath the first floor classroom to which I was assigned.

 

I have a special regard for Copsychus saularis. Its confiding nature has been such that it facilitated close range portraiture, gradually refining my manual lens focus technique over the years.

 

Seeing it here was a delightful surprise. A superb choice, @mvecht!

 

            Tom K.

[Galana]

@inyathi

My dear old granny used to say 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and no doubt, wise woman that she was, it is true.

But too much can also be a total pain.

14 hours ago, inyathi said:

Although, I too was confident that this was an Oriental Magpie Robin, I would point out that the BirdLife international website lists five species of magpie robins 

In my case "Ignorance is Bliss and 'tis a folly to be wise."

So said Thomas Gray in his 1768 "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College". (You are probably too young to remember the BBC radio quiz show of the '50s of the same name.)

So bumbling along in my ignorance as it were I had only Galana's Law to guide. Thus;- It's a Magpie Robin that occurs in the Orient. Tick.

It was good to know it is not under threat everywhere as it is such a confiding little thing in habit.

@mvechtThank you. (I think)

[Galana]

Well let us see how long this one lasts.

 

 

[mvecht]

I had hoped to post a Seychelles magpie Robin which is very, rare but our trip last spring got cancelled.

The above posted bird is indeed an Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis photographed at the Ranthambore Bagh hotel in India.

[inyathi]

@mvechtSorry to here that your visit to the Seychelles was cancelled, you should have no trouble booking another trip there, I understand that they were the first African country to start vaccinating and were intending to have 70% of their population vaccinated by around now, hoping to be the first country to achieve this, some experts have suggested that if you can vaccinate over 70%, you should achieve herd immunity, the Seychelles are banking on this being the case. From the 25th of March they will open their doors to anyone who has had a negative test result, you won't need to be vaccinated, doubtless time will tell if they are right about herd immunity, all the same, even if they don't have a huge population, it is quite an achievement to get so many people vaccinated so quickly, presumably they won't stop when they reach 70%, as there will still be people willing to have the vaccine. Their economy must depend so heavily on tourism, that they need get tourists back as soon as possible.     

 

The Seychelles Magpie Robin was once found on all of the major islands of the Seychelles, at least 8 islands so far as is known, but since people arrived it was reduced to near extinction with just 16 birds all on one island Frégate, a conservation programme, implemented by BirdLife, RSPB and SMART (Seychelles Magpie Robin Recovery Team) eradicating introduced predators and translocating birds to other islands has so far been pretty successful. Here's a video, it is rather out of date as it is from 2002 

 

  

 

The BirdLife website states the following

 

Quote

 

Copsychus sechellarum was orginally present on eight (possibly 13) islands (Millett and Parr (undated; in Bristol et al. 2005)) in the Seychelles, but in 1965, only 12-15 birds remained on Frégate (Gaymer et al. 1969). A small introduced population on Alphonse survived until about 1960 (Edwards undated). The Frégate population numbered c.40 birds in 1977/78, however by 1981 this had been reduced to c.20 birds, and numbers remained around this level until the 1990s (Edwards undated). In 1994, following the advent of a recovery programme, the population had increased to 48 (attributable to an increase in birth rate and first-year survival [Norris and McCulloch 2003]). , with two birds translocated to Aride. In 2000, following further translocations, the population reached 86 (comprising 46 on Frégate, 23 on Cousin, 15 on Cousine and two on Aride) (Millett et al. 1999; Millet and Shah 2001). The population has continued to increase since 2000, with a total of 110 individuals in 2003 (R. Bristol in litt. 2003), 136 individuals in 2004 (including 90 mature individuals) (R. Bristol in litt. 2004), and an estimated 150 in 2005 (R. Bristol in litt. 2005). In 2006, the population had increased to 178 birds (including 82 on Frégate, 46 on Cousin, 32 on Cousine and 18 on Aride) (N. Shah in litt. 2006, López-Sepulcre et al. 2008). Three of the four populations are now at carrying capacity, with only small population increases anticipated as habitat continues to improve (R. Bristol in litt. 2005). However, one bird emigrated from Aride to Denis Island in August 2004 (R. Bristol in litt. 2005; J. Millett in litt. 2004), demonstrating that the species is capable of dispersing to peripheral cays. In 2008 20 birds were translocated to Denis and the population has been on the increase since (A. López-Sepulcre in litt. 2016). As of 2015, the total population was of 283 birds on five islands (137 on Fégate, 46 on Cousin, 32 on Cousine, 10 on Aride and 58 on Denis [Burt et. al 2016]). Two of the five islands (Cousin and Cousine) have remained stable for the last decade, and two (Frégate and Denis) show continuing increases. However, one of them (Aride) has experienced a steep decline, standing currently at 9 individuals, of which only one is a fertile female (G. Rocamora in litt. to A. López-Sepulcre 2016).

 

 

BirdLife Datazone

 

The most up to date figure I've seen from a 2019 science paper, puts their number at over 300 on five islands, Conservation genomics of the endangered Seychelles magpie robin (Copsychus sechellarum), there are still a couple more islands that they could be returned to, once those islands have been made safe.

 

 

@Galana I’ve learned before with this game that it doesn’t pay to be too hasty with an answer and I’ve also developed a slightly suspicious mind, so the thought occurred to me, that he could be attempting to fool us with a Madagascar Magpie Robin, hoping we would think it was Oriental, as the latter is likely to be more familiar. I did think that probably wasn’t likely, however, I opted to not to go for it, as I hadn’t picked out a new bird, so I thought I’d see who else wanted to take it, but also I thought it was a good idea to check the other species, so that had you been wrong, I would have been ready with an alternative answer.

 

I have now picked out a potential new bird.

 

So, I will suggest that your bird is a Pied Plover (Vanellus cayanus)

Edited March 21, 2021 by inyathi

[mvecht]

@inyathi first of all thank you for having a go at what I also believe is a Pied Plover/Pied Lapwing (again one of these birds with several names!)

Nice video from the Seychelles.

We will definitely visit the Seychelles at some point. I am very keen to visit Bird Island Lodge. Especially when the Sooty Terns are nesting.

[Galana]

1 hour ago, inyathi said:

So, I will suggest that your bird is a Pied Plover (Vanellus cayanus)

Well that did not last long. A fair cop.

 

So let's all have a look at what you have picked out for us.

Over to you.

 

[inyathi]

@Galana

I don't know how hard this one will be, sometimes when I give an answer, I don't have a new photo already picked out, and then it can take me longer to pick my next photo, than it did to identify the latest bird, if it wasn't a difficult one, so I thought I would pick the next bird first before answering, so as not to hold up the game. 

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @inyathi:

 

Without seeing the bill's color or the back plumage this species is uncertain to me.

 

My young friends are sleeping as it's around 1:30 am where they live.

 

Two former students are now working for Chinese firms doing business in West Africa.

 

Among their local travel images of woodland plants, insects and birds there was a couple of images of a species similar to what you've posted.

 

That species had an unmistakably red bill with black back plumage.

 

The bird they photographed was Prionops caniceps. What struck me was the distinctive eyering contrast with the soft grey head plumage.

 

As it had reddish legs, it may be similar to what you've posted, if not the same species.

 

Lacking a West African bird field guide, I must wait until the teenagers awaken for confirmation.

 

In any case, thank you for posting this species.

 

                 Tom K.

[inyathi]

16 minutes ago, Tom Kellie said:

Lacking a West African bird field guide, I must wait until the teenagers awaken for confirmation.

 

@Tom KellieYou needn't wait that long, I didn't expect that to be very hard, but I expected to have to wait a little bit longer, it is indeed Prionops caniceps Red-billed Helmet Shrike seen in Bobiri Forest in Ghana, over to you. 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @inyathi:   

 

What ?!?!?! I'd not yet been certain, feeling that there hadn't been enough diagnostic hallmarks to make a reasonable conjecture.

 

Without confirming the bill hue and seeing the back plumage, I felt hesitant.

 

There are a number of helmetshrikes, Vangidae, yet I've only seen two such species.

 

It's a name I remember because the lovely wife of Tydon Safari Camps (Kruger and Sabi Sands, South Africa) Manager Gavin van der Merwe is named Vangie.

 

There aren't any field guides with me, except for U.S. species.

 

Owing to the sudden, frenzied departure from China, the field guides were boxed up.

 

They're presently in what may turn out to be very long-term storage in the family home of a former student.

 

The eye-ring and dove-grey head plumage were what suggested Prionops caniceps.

 

Thank you for posting a species observed in Ghana. 

 

I regret having mused too soon, thereby depriving the young East Asian naturalists from having a go at it.

 

             Tom K.

 

 

[Galana]

Well done Tom. A well deserved win.

I paid the price of lingering over a post prandial glass.

[Tom Kellie]

 

~ This image was made on the day before my 60th birthday.

 

Tom K.

 

 

 

[Galana]

Good day @Tom Kellie

3 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

This image was made on the day before my 60th birthday.

So a fairly recent photograph then??

 

I am devoid of a team to ask so will go with my instincts without delay and suggest we are looking at Lesser Whistling Duck or Java. Dendrocygna javanica . Not a bird I am too familiar with but chestnut rump (tail coverts) suggests that bird.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

As the photographer is now 67, this image is now over seven years old.

 

It was taken in the Singapore Botanical Garden on the morning of 3 November, 2013.

 

I'd flown there from Beijing to mark the six decade anniversary by a photography visit to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

 

When posting this image, I thought of @Kitsafariwho resides in lovely Singapore.

 

Yes, it is indeed Dendrocygna javanica! No team of mirthful assistants is needed when one has substantial experience and acute judgment.

 

Well done. The baton once again becomes yours.

 

              Tom K.

[Kitsafari]

@Tom Kellie there's a family of lesser whistling ducks that have made a home at Gardens By the Bay, and each year, the birders and photographers keep a close watch on their chicks and broods. Many of them have taken the ducks to their hearts, and often wish the chicks well and had in the past pushed for better facilities for the chicks against predators.  So the ducks are doing pretty well. 

Thank you for the lovely shot of the whistlers!

[Galana]

2 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

this image is now over seven years old.

Yes. I forget sometimes how my British wry humour sometimes does not work with other nations.

 

Singapore is indeed getting ever more attractive with @Kitsafari's sterling single handed efforts to boost Avitourism.

 

2 hours ago, Tom Kellie said:

to mark the six decade anniversary

I recall I was in a tent in Tanzania with only a bottle of Tullamore Dew for company for the end of my 61st year but no idea where I was at the start. So loooong ago.

 

Any way here is my next offering...

 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galana:

 

Your wonderfully wry humour was indeed appreciated.

 

The weakness lies in yours truly, who lacks the canny wit to formulate a fitting riposte.

 

May I please express my admiration for the image posted above?

 

The clarity of focus on the eye and bill is exemplary. 

 

You've offered a model of bird photography as well as an interesting species challenge.

 

The sleeping teenage naturalists will surely appreciate the image quality as much as their instructor of a certain age.

 

             Tom K.

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Tom Kellie said:

May I please express my admiration for the image posted above?

 

The clarity of focus on the eye and bill is exemplary.

Oh Sir,

That is so kind and means so much to this poor mortal who, on Big Year Forum, is so often the butt of humour by other members.

[mvecht]

@Galana  I will try to apply Galana`s law. The bird is yellow, looks like a warbler and the picture could well be from Africa.

African Yellow Warbler (Iduna natalensis)?

[Galana]

@mvechtDash. I am so pleased with your application of my Law that I could be tempted to say 'yes'. It does work.

But I will resist and trust you will have the good grace to accept and understand why this should be so.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Galana

[Tom Kellie]

~ @Galanaand @mvecht:

 

This is a tough challenge which has been tossed to teenage naturalists.

 

They initially pooh-poohed my thought that it seemed like a Uganda endemic which I'd admired on a friend's Zenfolio photo gallery.

 

What they focused on were the tail-feathers, which led their back-and-forth badinage in the same direction as @mvecht.

 

Remaining reluctantly unpersuaded by their diagnostic techniques, I reread a description which finally persuaded a pair of them this morning.

 

Might it be possible that this fine image (the eye is remarkably clear) is Calamonastides gracilirostris, the Papyrus Yellow Warbler?

 

The plumage hues and the bill fit two descriptions I've read.

 

If so...or...if not...my sparse awareness of Uganda/Central African endemics has been enlarged.

 

In any case, my young colleagues join me in admiration for the species photograph.

 

                 Tom K.