Of North Borneo Birds and others

Migrant ducks

2012-02-08T10:32:00.000+08:00

Borneo has 2 positively confirmed resident ducks, they are Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica and Wandering Whistling Duck Dendrocygna arcuata, and 10 migrant ducks.

The only resident duck easily observed in Sabah is Wandering Whistling Duck, which is until quite recently a rare bird. It has established very well in suitable habitats in Sabah.

All the migrant ducks are rare birds, some species come regularly every year in small number.

The best places in Sabah to observe these northern visitors are in the west coast of Sabah, among the many paddy fields and fresh water lakes which are characteristic of the rural lowland landscape there. Promising places are in Tempasuk plain and Tuaran area.

Southern visitors only reach Kalimantan and have not been observed in Sabah.

Garganey Anas querquedula is the only migrant duck that has been widely recorded all over Borneo, and we managed to locate eleven of them in Tawau in early December 2011, (Historically, Tawau is not a good place to see migrant ducks as no previous observation was made there).

Some of the pictures below review the wing pattern which is the only reliable clue to sex them in this eclipse plumage.

Garganey

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula is a rare visitor, a small number is regularly seen in Tuaran, Tempasuk and Penampang areas in Sabah.They are usually recorded in west coast of Borneo as far south as Kuching. We were lucky to chance upon these two males in Tawau, Sabah, in early December 2011.

Tufted Duck

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Lesser Adjutant

2012-01-19T21:35:00.000+08:00

Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus is unmistakable in the field in Borneo. There is no other bird that looks like it , both in size and appearance. It was reported to be common in the old days, along the mangrove mudflats in coastal areas. Now it is quite rare and not easy to see one. Shooting is said to be the cause of its drastic reduction in Sabah.

This bird is reported to wander extensively. Sighting reports from lower Kinabatangan is quite regular, and it was once in Likas wetlands. This was in Tinagat beach Tawau, the first time we saw it there, and my lifer. There were three of them according to the locals but we only saw one there.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Oriental Cuckoo

2012-01-10T09:28:00.000+08:00

Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus optatus (Myer : C. horsfieldi) and Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus are both locally common non-breeding winter visitor to lowland and hills of Borneo, accordingly to Mann's Checklist, they are here in equal number during migration.

Life was easy before their split in 2005 as all birds would be ticked as Oriental Cuckoo, resulting in a list of sightings pre-2005 which were not identified to race.

Oriental Bird Club does not follow the split by Payne (2005) and King (2005), and continues to list both as Oriental Cuckoo in its image database, so referring to OBI for identification tips is of not much help.

Different authors use different scientific name for Oriental Cuckoo as seen in the first paragraph, Mann and Phillipps follow Payne while Myer follows King.

Oriental and Himalayan Cuckoo are virtually identical and best distinguished by call and size, however, migrating birds are usually not vocal in their wintering ground, again, size is another unreliable method in the field if only a single bird is present, thus the identification of this species here is more often a calculated guess.

I think this bird is Oriental Cuckoo and not Himalayan, based on the markings on its vent. Himalayan sometimes has vague dark splodges on its vent while Oriental sometimes has spots on undertail-coverts (Brazil, 2009), the undertail-coverts of this bird sure looks more spotty then splodgy to me.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Rare bird sightings in Sabah - 4th Quarter 2011

2012-01-07T21:42:00.002+08:00

The followings are records of interesting bird sightings; some rare, some very rare, including one new addition to Bornean list (Red-billed Starling), in various parts of Sabah compiled from Internet postings, photo sharing blog and personal communications throughout the 4th quarter of 2011, feel free to email me if I missed out anything, left out any observer or made any error, so that appropriate amendments could be made.

A big thank you to all observers who have shared their observations.

These information will be very useful if they are centralized in one place instead of scattered all over the internet.I have, therefore, self appointed myself to make a list every month from all information available to me and will post it at my blog, Borneo Bird Club's Blog, and Borneo Bird Images when the appropriate web page is ready. By doing so, I hope these records will be stored permanently and readily available to everyone interested in such info.

All sightings included here are supported by photographs made by the observers.

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Rare Roadkill

2012-01-05T20:45:00.043+08:00

Malay Civet or Tangalung (Viverra tangalunga), nocturnal, occurs in forests and cultivated areas adjacent thereto. It is also reported to come to forest camps at night to feed on food scraps.

I once saw one walking on a road next to an oil palm plantation, I mistook it as a dog and missed the chance to get a photo of this species. I have seen another one during night safari in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Too bad I have not had a good picture of this species yet.

We discovered this fine specimen one morning on our way to photograph birds, it was sad to see this beautiful animal lying lifeless on the tarmac.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Pelagic Birding 3rd December 2011

2011-12-13T10:18:00.000+08:00

We went again on 3rd December 2011, to yet another pelagic birding trip, hoping to see more of our migrating avian friends, as a Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia, a rare Borneo vagrant, was photographed in Tawau by two of my birding sifus a few days earlier.

The number of birds seen on this trip was only a little more than our previous trip (reported here), nothing much to shout about. However, I had a consolation in photographing a Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis as my lifer.

Here are the birds seen that day.

Greater Crested Tern, a few seen flying around the boat.

Lesser Crested Tern, a few seen.

The lone Aleutian Tern in winter plumage.

A low flying female Lesser Frigatebird. There was a large group of them.

One of the handful of Common Tern

Black-headed Gull, the only gull positively recorded in Borneo. I took this picture of one that was very far away, after noticing the different wings colors of this bird. A handful of them was in west coast of Sabah last year, see here.

Adult winter Black-headed Gull

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Field identification of Scaly-crowned and Rufous-crowned Babbler

2011-12-08T10:26:00.001+08:00

Scaly-crowned Babbler Malacopteron cinereum is a common babbler in primary forests.

The very similar Rufous-crowned Babbler Malacopteron magnum, however, is common in all type of forests in Borneo. They occur side-by-side in the same habitat and in almost identical elevation.

Population of both species dropped after logging, with Scaly-crowned Babbler dropped drastically.

In Tawau, we often bird in logged and secondary forests, Rofous-crowned Babbler is commonly encountered, its melodious song is often heard, Scaly-crowned Babbler, on the other hand, is seldom seen.

Field identification to distinguish the two is not difficult as Scaly-crowned Babbler has pale pinkish legs and pale lower mandible while Rufous-crowned Babbler has dark legs and without pale lower mandible. Another ID feature is the dark tipped crown feathers of Scaly-crowned Babbler, however, this might not be easy to observe in the field.

Rufous-crowned Babbler showing, 1. dark legs, 2. dark lower mandible and, 3. lack of black-tipped crown feathers

Scaly-crowned Babbler showing pale legs and pale lower mandible.

Black-tipped crown feathers and pale lower mandible of Scaly-crowned Babbler.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Roulroul

2011-12-05T14:01:00.000+08:00

Roulroul Rollulus rouloul or Crested Partridge is stated to be the commonest partridge in Borneo. However, their habit of foraging terrestrially in thick undergrowth under deep forest cover makes them very hard to spot and observe.

They usually forage in small flock, leisurely walking and scratching on dark forest floor. The female was more daring to move about, it could forage within feet of a stationery observer. The male bird, on the other hand, was much shyer and was hidden under deep cover most of the time.

To photograph them is another matter as the dim light and their constant movements require a reasonaly high shutter speed which can only be achieved with combination of expensive fast lenses and high ISO capabled pro-level camera.

This photo was taken with my D300 set to ISO3200 with my old 70-200 f2.8 lens, that was the best my set could do. The result was only just good enough for record.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Some waders at Tinagat, Tawau end November 2011

2011-12-01T13:50:00.003+08:00

It is the migrating season again, visits to Tinagat beach were rewarded with these waders.

I managed to record a new lifer, Grey-tailed Tattler Heteroscelis brevipes.

A section of the hundreds of Great Knot, which is the commonest waders here.

Grey-tailed Tattler, my lifer.

Two Great Egrets, showing the range in size.

Lesser Frigatebird, L to R, adult ♀, adult ♂ and immature.

Eurasian Curlew

Eurasian Curlew, showing its diagnostic white rump.

Broad-billed Sandpiper

Terek Sandpiper

Bar-tailed Godwit with a Great Knot

Pond Heron, suspected to be Chinese instead of Javan as they are only around during the northern winter, however, it is not possible to positively confirm in this eclipse plumage.

Common Redshank

A composite of diving Little Tern

A Mangrove Skink Emoia atrocostata

Common Greenshank

Far-eastern Curlew.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Large-tailed Nightjar

2011-11-29T06:29:00.000+08:00

I must confess, this is my first nightjar, I have not photographed a nightjar before, though I have heard this often enough in Sandakan. Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus is the commonest of the four nightjars occuring in Sabah.

Nightjars are nocturnal or crepuscular, which mean they are active from twilight, thus they are not likely to be encountered during the day when we photograph along the forest trails, however, one might chance upon them roosting on the ground or along branches in day time.

This bird was photographed in Sandakan Sports Complex. It was heard not long after the lights were switched on, a pair was seen foraging for insects later and occasionally perched on the fence pole.It has long and pointed wings with hawklike flight, catching insects on the wings.

Large-tailed Nightjar is patchily distributed in Borneo, being commoner in Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak and in adjacent areas in Kalimantan.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Paratised Caterpillar

2011-11-24T20:41:00.000+08:00

This is something other than birds.

We came across this strange looking but colorful caterpillar, it has many tiny white cocoons on its body. Apparently the cocoons are of braconid wasps, which will eventually emerge and kill the poor caterpillar.

Happy birding.

Pelagic birding on 17th September 2011

2011-11-08T11:33:00.000+08:00

This is our second pelagic trip to Davel Bay in Kunak, our last trip in August saw only a few birds.

The number of birds for this trip was better but no new birds were seen, the sightings were the usual common migrants.

We did not see a lot of terns as seen by Dave Bakewell in Tanjong Dawai Kedah. Our boat is identical to the one there and I have yet to see any Terns perched on the yellow floaters. May be we do not have that number of Terns here, or may be our timing was off, we will wait and see from our future trips.

Species seen during the trip comprised Aleutian Tern Sterna aleutica, Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Greater-crested Tern Sterna bergii, White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus and Lesser Frigate Birds Fregata ariel ariel. Except for the lone Greater-crested Tern, the other birds were all numbered less than ten.

A few Aleutian Terns were flying around, some in breeding and some in non-breeding plumage, at times they were trailing our boat.

The non-breeding birds look similar to non-breeding Common Tern and please let me know if I got the ID wrong.

There were a few Common Terns.

This Common Tern looks odd in its yellow legs.

The lone Greater Crested Tern seen that day.

There were also a few White-winged Terns.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Birding with Sifu Karim Madoya on 29th October 2011

2011-11-03T20:50:00.001+08:00

Went to KK for a seminar on 28th October, took the opportunity to do some birding in Penampang paddy fields with sifu Karim on 29th October before coming back to Tawau. I was lucky to record three lifers on that day.

Penampang paddy fields has been very very "hot" in October with sighting of some very very rare vagrants of Borneo. They are Oriental Plover Charadrius veredus, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata, Ruff Philomachus pugnax, Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus, Little Curlew Numenius minutus, and Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata. Most of them are passage migrants and only stopping by for refuel, they will continue their journey southward after refueling.The window to take pictures of them is, therefore, only a few days at the most, sometimes even shorter.

Thanks to Karim who took the trouble to fetch me from my hotel at 6.00 am and spent the whole day with me.

The morning started quite slowly with plenty of Wood Sandpipers Tringa glareola around the area while we were scanning for Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata which was photographed the day before, but we could not locate it.

While scanning, I took photo of this small group of endemic Dusky Munia Lonchura fuscan. They are everywhere around the paddy fields here but not as common in Tawau due to shortage of similar habitats there.

Dusky Munia

Greater Painted Snipe Rostrayula benghalensis is also a common bird here but I have yet to see one in Tawau, the scarcity is also due to lack of suitable habitats. Even though they are common, to get a clear photograph of this species is easier said than done as it is a very shy bird and seldom come to the open.My best effort was this pair partly hidden behind some long grass, this was my first lifer for the day.

Greater Painted Snipe Female

Greater Painted Snipe Male

We later tried to photograph the ever popular Red Avadavat Amandava amandava, where a small feral population has established here and I think they should be doing fine as evidence by a juvenile with an adult male, furthermore, I also found them here in April this year.

An immature Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus came to perch on the wire which was shared with the Red Avadavat.

Plaintive Cuckoo

While we were leaving, we spotted this rare 1st winter Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus foraging in a shallow drain, it was feeding there for a good 3 to 5 minutes, affording us some good photographic opportunities to get a sharp image. This was of my second lifer.

Red-necked Phalarope

We continued to Sugud Penampang to try our luck, hoping to photograph the elusive Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella, but the place was very quiet and I only saw some young Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum trogonostigma and a Yellow-eared Spiderhunter Arachnothera chrysogenys feeding on a fruiting tree.

Yellow-eared Spiderhunter

Immature Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

We went back to the paddy fields in the afternoon and saw this group of Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus on an overhead cable. This species originates from caged birds and is evidently well established in this area, however, I have not seen one of this in Tawau yet.

Crested Myna

We were rewarded not so long after with this rare Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, my third lifer. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a scarce winter passage migrant here, two birds were seen that day.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Some of my recent lifers

2011-10-11T11:53:00.001+08:00

Thousand apologies for not updating my blog as regularly as I wish, as I am occupied with some other interesting project.

Birding is like playing golf, the better you are a golfer, the less number of strokes you get to play, with birding, it is the more birds you have in your list, the less lifer you going to record.

Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella, my nemesis bird, finally got the female after so many attempts, they are often heard but seldom spotted. The male bird still remain elusive.

This image was taken with the Panasonic GF 1 + 1.7X TC + 600mm, equivalent to 2000 mm on 35mm format terms.

Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella

Grey-headed Babbler Stachyris poliocephala, supposed to be common, but seldom seen due to its skulking behavior.

Grey-headed Babbler Stachyris poliocephala

Chestnut-naped Forktail Enicurus ruficapillus, another bird that is very very skittish, often seen feeding on wet surfaces but will fly off once it heard the approaching car, even if the car was hundreds of meter away.

Chestnut-naped Forktail Enicurus ruficapillus

Great Argus Argusianus argus easy to hear in the jungle with its loud calls, but to see one is another matter altogether. One early morning, we were lucky to spot three of them about 300 meters away on the road side, we stopped our car and managed to get a few record shots with my camera's ISO set to the bearly acceptable maximum, i.e. 1600 with lens aperture fully opened.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Pelagic birding on 6th Agust 2011

2011-09-27T21:30:00.003+08:00

Went on a pelagic birding trip on an anchovies boat on 6th August 2011 around Davel Bay, Kunak.

The weather was gloomy before we left port.

May be it was too early in the season, there wasn't much activity, we only managed to see a few Lesser Frigarebirds, a few Greater Crested Tern, some egrets on a far away shore, too far to positively identify, and a few Darters sunning and preening themselves on thin stilts on the shallow shore.

Two Darters perched on stilts, with numerous Egrets in the background.

Adult male Lesser Frigatebird.

Adult female Lesser Frigatebird.

Greater Crested Terns, which are supposed to be migrants, but have been recorded throughout the year.

This one flew quite near.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Whitehead's Spiderhunter - Bornean Endemic

2011-08-14T06:22:00.000+08:00

Whitehead's Spiderhunter Arachnothera juliae, my lifer. I have been trying to get a decent photo of it for quite a while to complete my Bornean Whitehead's collection.

Fieldguides list this as locally common endemic in montane forests, as it feeds at canopy, it is not easy to observe, to get a good shot is easier said than done. We were lucky on that day at Rafflesia's Reserve, as this bird flew in from a bathe somewhere, preening away and let us have a few minutes to shoot.

Here is my third Whitehead.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Borneo Ibon - Bornean endemic

2011-06-28T10:47:00.004+08:00

Borneo Ibon Oculocincta squamifrons, a generally scare but can be locally common Borneo endemic of the lower montane forests. It is a tiny bird and feeds actively in small flocks, regularly return to feed on the same fruiting tree. You just need to locate a fruiting tree that they come to feed and wait there to take their photographs.

A tiny bird that is easily concealed in the foliage, its drab color does not help to spot it either. Distinctive features to look for in the field are its white spotted forehead and crown, and its white iris.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

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Yellow-vented Flowerpecker

2011-06-13T07:29:00.000+08:00

Yellow-vented Flowerpecker Dicaeum chrysorrheum, is an uncommon flowerpecker of the lowlands of Borneo. I have not seen them in the cultivated gardens, this is photographed in a forest reserve when it was feeding on some hanging epiphytes.

Like most other members of this family, it is an active feeder and constantly hops from branch to branch, where it is hidden most of the time, to take a clear shot is a real hair pulling exercise.

One of my new birds taken about half a year ago, has been busy and has not much time to update my list.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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Birding with Sifu Jason in Penampang on 17th April 2011

2011-04-28T05:56:00.000+08:00

Was in KK for a seminar, took time off to shoot some photos of birds with sifu Jason, who was very helpful to bring me around in his car. The target birds for the session were Red Avadavat Amandava amandava, Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis and Banded Kingfisher Lacedo pulchella. Though they are regularly seen in Penampang and some other localities, I have yet to see one.

We set out at 6.00 am from KK, when we reached the Red Avadavat site, I was surprised to note that it is just a patch of land reclaimed with sandstones and clay, sparsely grown with long and short grass, sandwiched between paddyfields and the busy Penampang highway, we parked our car on the road shoulder and started looking. They were quickly sighted far away and were seen feeding on the dry earth with a group of Chestnut Munia Lonchura atricappilla.

Red Avadavat, colorful and cute, is a popular cage bird, and as a result has been introduced to many parts of the world. Borneo population is likewise introduced, race is still uncertain for the Sabah birds, first recorded in June 1969 in Kota Kinabalu, it has since established. Its small size couple with its habits of foraging on earth and underneath short growing grass make them very inconspicuous and must have been overlooked most of the time.

Female or non-breeding male

Breeding male

Sharing habitat with them are the followings.

Adult and Juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata, this bird is rare in East coast of Sabah, I have yet to see one in Tawau.

Chestnut Munia

Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris

Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus, an unexpected lifer, having heard Sifu Jason said he saw one at the vicinity a couple of days ago.

Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis moulting into breeding plumage. I have not seen one in full breeding, and they have not been recorded to breed in Borneo.

Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus, another introduced species, first recorded in Tanjung Aru in 1978.

However, luck was not with me when we went to search for the Buff-banded Rail at the same habitat, and rain began to fall when we reached the forest for Banded Kingfisher, both were no where to be found. So they will remain as targets for my next trip.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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Smooth Otter

2011-04-07T07:39:00.001+08:00

Smooth Otter Lutra perspicillata, occuring in mainland Asia, India, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.

Recorded to live at the coast as well as inland.

I have seen a group along the river that runs next to Tabin Wildlife Reserve chalets, also seen two at the coast at Apas Parit in Tawau.

This beautiful looking small group, however, is living in a golf course.

Tawau Golf Club is located next to a forest reserve, and the club's committee has made it a point to co-exist with whatever wildlife that live in the vicinity.

Apparently they have moved in from the reserve to live in one of the ponds dotting the golf course. They have grown to know the habit of golfers, whom they know is not a threat, they will continue to sun themselves despite the constant moving golf buggies and golfers. However, when someone get too near, either to retrieve a stray ball or to make a shot, they will quickly slide into the pond for safety, only to emerge again in a short while after the departure of the buggies and golfers who have continued on to the next hole.

Happy birding.

Female Narcissus Flycatcher

2011-03-24T08:07:00.000+08:00

Narcissus Flycatcher ficedula narcissina is an uncommon non-breeding winter visitor and passage migrant to northern Borneo.It is similar to female Blue and White Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana, which also occurs in Borneo during the winter months.They look almost the same at first glance but there are some subtle differences that can be used to separate them. 1. Narcissus is a smaller bird. 2. Blue and White has clearly demarcated white belly from the brownish breast. 3. Blue and White has no wing-bars. 4. Narcissus has darker wings and buff fringed tertials and coverts.5. Narcissus has slate blue to bluish grey legs while Blue and White has black legs.

I have identified this bird as the female Narcissus Flycatcher (my new bird), too bad the male bird was not seen.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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Red Giant Flying Squirrel

2011-03-18T08:33:00.000+08:00

Red Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista petaurista, a generally nocturnal mammal, becomes active only shortly before dusk.

There is a small group resident in trees near the canopy walkway at RDC, Sepilok Sandakan. They will emerge from their nest holes shortly after the sun sets each evening and climb to a high branch to make their spectacular glides into the deeper forests. It is a daily event which most of the visitors would happily and patiently wait at the canopy walkway to observe.

The photographing of them is another matter altogether as the fast fading light level makes obtaining a decent photo a real challenge. These were taken there with high ISO with 500mm on a D300.

ISO 2000

ISO 3200

A photograph of the same taken at night with flash will look like this.

Happy birding.

What bird is this?

2011-03-11T12:53:00.000+08:00

Photo was taken November 2010 at Tawau Hills Park. Only from one angle.It is roughly of the size of a typical brown flycatcher.

Any sifu has any idea what is it? Thank you very much.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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Pale-bellied Myna

2011-02-28T10:09:00.000+08:00

Further to my earlier posts on the new bird of Sabah, Borneo; here and here.

The birds had been identified as Pale-bellied Myna Acridotheres cinereus, an endemic species of Southern Sulawesi. They could have been introduced here as caged birds.

They have been here for a number of years now. A visit recently showed that they are doing very well, I saw about 40 to 50 birds on a bare tree, flocking with some Asian Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis and a darker individual suspected to be a Javan Myna Acridotheres javanicus.

Here are the pictures.

The darker bird in the middle is suspected to be a Javan Myna.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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Three Lonchuras at my neighbour's backyard

2011-02-11T11:06:00.000+08:00

My next door neighbor moved to KL a number of years ago and he stopped renting out his house recently in preparation for sale. Long grass unattended attracted three members of the seed-eating Lonchuras. I just need to stand at my kitchen door to photograph them.

First is the extremely common Chestnut Munia Lonchura atricapilla. This bird is all over the place, nesting in housing estates' gardens, traffic islands and even in your potted plant.

Than, the attractive feral Java Sparrow Lonchura oryzivora. Originally introduced as pet birds, the escapees are evidently well established as large party numbering more than 50 birds can be seen congregating to feed on suitable locations here.

Later the rarer White-bellied Munia Lonchura leucogastra palawana, this bird is, unlike its Chestnut Munia cousin, very shy and difficult to approach, it will flee at the slightest sign of you approaching.

Interestingly, Borneo has four races of this. Both Phillipps' and Susan Myer's Fieldguides illustrate the L. l. smythiesi found in western Borneo (Sarawak). The race in Sabah is L. l. palawana, similar to L. l. smythiesi but with less chestnut on the flanks. Also note that only the belly is white, not the vent.

And this is a shot of three of them together, Java Sparrow on top, White-bellied Munia at the bottom.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

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