A Leisurely BY 2022 from Herman and Kit

[Kitsafari]

169/CB68. Puff-throated Bulbul, Chongkran Roy

 

a beauty of a bulbul, i think. also quite gregarious and very thirsty bird.

 

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

A shame about the Pitta, but a good collection of Babblers and Bulbuls!

[xelas]

Ahh, a Bulbul ... what a beauty!

[Galana]

Loving the Bubuls. Strange how the genera is so similar in underlying appearance despite markedly different plumage variations.

[Kitsafari]

Thank you @PeterHG @xelas @Galana 

 

@Galana you're spot on in your observations. I also wondered about that but just amazing that the bulbuls' various plumage are so vastly different. 

 

Some species were in my Sg list already. 

 

24/CB69 Asian Emerald Dove, Chongkran Roy

 

A rather skittish bird usually seen singly in Singapore, these doves were out in a group of six but still nervous doves. 

 

 

 

 

07/CB70. Spotted Dove, Chongkran Roy

 

apologies for this bad shot. This was such a half-hearted attempt. initially i didn't want to take a shot as we get this species in our garden every day but then i suddenly recalled i should take a shot for the Cambodian list. by the time i decided, the dove decided to move out of view.

 

 

31/CB71. Red Junglefowl, Chongkran Roy

 

Very skittish, unlike those in our parks. 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

112/CB72. White-rumped Shama, Chongkran Roy

 

this beautiful songster is uncommonly seen in Singapore and we try to keep their locations secret as poachers are still around in our country for this most-wanted caged bird. 

The shama birds - the handsome male and pretty female - were seen at both hides.

 

The reason for its name. Female.

 

 

 

 

Male

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

170/CB73. Taiga Flycatcher, Chongkran Roy campsite

 

this friendly flycatcher came visiting as we were finishing up our lunch at the campsite. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

171/CB74. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Chongkran Roy campsite

 

[Kitsafari]

172/CB75. White-crested Laughingthrush, Chongkran Roy/Tmat Boey hide

 

You hear them before you see  this gregarious and very loud species and they always move in a rather large flock of 6-10. 

 

CHongkran Roy hide

 

Tmat Boey Hide

[Kitsafari]

173/CB76. Two-barred Warbler, Chongkran Roy

 

[michael-ibk]

Cool birds and photos - love the Laughing-Thrush. Sorry about the Pitta - I know you love them.

[TonyQ]

A beautiful Laughing Thrush and a great collection of Bulbuls!

[Kitsafari]

thanks @michael-ibk and @TonyQ

[pedro maia]

Wow, so many cool species, I love the adjutant, could be paired with a marabu stork in a beauty contest .

[Dave Williams]

We really enjoyed our short visit to Siem Reap, the food is cheap and very tasty and the place comes alive after dark!  Highlight for us was the Phare Circus which is first class. We did the lake trip but not the birding bit so my count was very low indeed. You did well!

[Kitsafari]

   Thank you@pedro maia marabou storks will win hands down for being the ugliest bird!  

 

Thanks @Dave Williams . such a pity that I didn't know about the Phare Circus! i googled it after I saw your comment, and regretted not  knowing about it. i would have loved to watch it. 

[Kitsafari]

174/CB77. Siberian Blue Robin, Chongkran Roy

 

while I didn't get to see the pitta, I was quite pleased to see a couple of resident flycatchers. The Siberian Blue Robin is also migratory to Cambodia and Singapore, but it is difficult to see it on our island. Unfortunately, only two friendly females were around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

175/CB78. Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Chongkran Roy

 

2 Males

(sorry about that piece of wood on the left, as i had mentioned, i had a crap view to this heavily used waterhole, and i couldn't edit out the wood in this instance but wanted to show the beautiful blue chest of this adult male) The female siberian blue robin at the foreground was quite insistent on drinking. 

 

 

 

 

the female only appeared once before the territorial female white-rumped shama chased it away.

[Kitsafari]

176/CB79. Black-naped Monarch, Chongkran Roy

 

A small but endearing Black-naped Monarch, also called Black-naped Blue Flycatcher, was in a stealthy mode as it tried to avoid the territorial shama to get a sip of the water. The male was hardly out in the open but the tiny flashes of blue were the only signs I could get of it. 

 

 

 

showing the spot of black on its crown. 

 

female: 

[Kitsafari]

177/CB80. Blythe's Paradise Flycatcher, Chongkran Roy

 

First the short-tailed paradise flycatcher appeared for a fleeting couple of seconds before the shama chased it out, then the longer-tailed splendid flycatcher flew in. Always such a pleasure to see the paradise flycatchers. 

 

 

 

[Galana]

Excellent. Blue seems to be all the rage today.

[Kitsafari]

The last location we went to was at the Tmat Boey ecotourism community, which sits in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary was set aside in  1993 to protect the Kouprey, a bovine that looks like the Gaur, but the protection did little to help the species which is now thought to be extinct. However, two critically endangered bird species were found in the area - the Giant Ibis, which is (ironically) the national bird of Cambodia and the white-shouldered Ibis. Tmat Boey is probably one of the last places on earth to see the giant ibis. The white-shouldered ibis started from a single breeding pair found in 2002 - at that time, the only place in the world known to be a breeding location - to 11 pairs in 2016. A lodge was set up in 2015 to accommodate and encourage birders to this area to support the local communities, which are discouraged from stealing eggs and chicks and hunting the adults. Each nest of the Giant Ibis is now supposed to be watched by a local villager who camps overnight close to the nest. The ibises will come later!

 

We spent 2 nights at this place, and it was one of the  more productive places for  birds. Tmat Boey is probably one of Cambodia's last surviving open woodlands made up of decicduous diperocarp trees and scattered wetlands. It is really favourable for birds, and every time we were in the forests during the day, bird songs thronged the air, which really cheered me as there were signs of poaching in the sanctuary. 

 

177/CB80. Chestnut-headed Babbler, Tmat Boey

 

A most elusive babbler and the only open shot was an EBC. 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

178/CB81. Sooty-headed Bulbul, Tmat Boey

 

[Kitsafari]

179/CB82. Common Bushlark, Tmat Boey

 

[Kitsafari]

180/CB83. Indochinese Bushlark, Tmat Boey