Yellow-Bellied Prinia

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

This Yellow-Bellied Prinia was together with their cousins the Rufescent Prinia, moving as a group while making lots of happy sound.

Hello again: Orange-Breasted Trogon

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

During the last trip to Bukit Tinggi we were greeted by this bird. Today he was a bit late to say Hello, probably he knew  we’d be busy shooting the other orange celebrity bird.

Verditer Flycatcher

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

A  male Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassina) with spectacular blue plumage. Tried to  catch them taking flying insects in mid air  but they were simply too fast for me. Different shades of blue depending on the lighting.

Arigato Gozaimasu: Mugimaki Flycatcher

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

Finally, managed to get some shots of this elusive migratory  bird the Mugimaki flycatcher  (Ficedula mugimaki). Wasn’t easy  since she wasn’t keen on being out in the open.  Lifer 本当にありがとうございます。

Ashy Bulbul

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

A lifer. The elegant Ashy Bulbul  (Hemixos flavala) local name: Merbah Abu , Burung Tuar

Walking the Red Carpet: Orange-Headed Thrush

24th January 2010,  Bukit Tinggi, Pahang

Currently the celebrity bird of Bukit Tinggi, a male  Orange-Headed Thrush   ( Zoothera citrina innotata) . A Lifer

Dapat Isteri Muda: Chestnut-Winged Babblers

23rd January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor At one point along the new trail we  could hear the  distinctive calls of  the Chestnut-Winged Babblers . Shortly afterwards we spotted this couple  just hopping  away in the thick ferns along the steep bank. Sometimes we could hear  spurts  of fluttering sound when they flew  across the trail, maybe to check us out. After decicing that we were not a threat they soon relaxed and went about their usual  business. One bird  had paler grey and lighter chestnut colour and she didn’t have the whites on the neck , presumably a young bird. With  better lighting  we had a great time taking these shots.

Anything interesting down there?                                                 ‘Hey where to go for honeymoon huh? I heard there’s a beautiful  Bali style resort the near the Telekom tower, very romantic '.

Yellow-Bellied Flowerpecker

23rd January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

The Yellow-Bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum melanoxanthum) has beautiful streaks running along its breast.

Jack hammer: Bamboo Woodpecker

23rd January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

Another lifer on the new trail, a Bamboo Woodpecker (Gecinulus viridis). I wonder whether they suffer from headaches after a day  of hammering .

Purple-Naped Sunbird

23rd January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

Met Mikebirder waiting for his Black Capped Babbler near the Telekom tower . The bird didn’t make an appearance so  Mike suggested that we try a different trail  today where his buddy had found  a Straw headed Bulbul. This  trail  yielded a few lifers for me . This is one of them, a female Purple-naped Sunbird (Hypogramma hypogrammicum).

Is it True? : Kemensah’s Great Slaty

A group of three

People have asked me whether it’s true that there are Great Slaty Woodpeckers in Kemensah (most recently during the MNS outing to Kemensah on 10th January 2010) . They are huge woodpeckers, probably the biggest in this region. Yes, I have seen them but that was the one and only one time and I’ve not seen any since. These long-range  record shots were taken on 15th March 2009 before I started this Blog.

Cheer up, We’re here: Black & Yellow Broadbills

16th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

Male and female Black & Yellow Broadbills . With a face like theirs I’m sure they can cheer anybody  up especially tired birders who haven’t seen much action that day.             The male                       The female

White-Rumped Shama

16th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

She was the loudest and most  active caller in the forest that day. Murai Batu (Copsychus malabaricus)

Dark & Handsome? : Chestnut-Winged Babbler

16th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

75.89% visible 94.16%  visible

Dark: Yes, he was in the dark. Handsome: Hmmmmmm… hard to say,   Beautiful…. Yesss. A Chestnut-Winged Babbler (Stachyris erythroptera) local name : Rimba Merbah Sampah. They prefer the thick  vegetation  near the forest floor  which made  taking  clear shots rather tricky.  I’ve never tried using shutter speeds below 1/80s  before but   was pleasantly surprised by the outcome even though these were shot at 1/30s  f6.3  ISO 800.         A lifer   98.53%  visible (I guess high enough to be considered a full bird!)

Dark-Necked Tailorbird

16th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

While the Birds were Away

9th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor Killing time when bird activity was low. These were shot using the birding lens ( AFS 300mm  f4).  Please correct me if I’m wrong with the IDs. I’m quite surprised at how they turned out. Maybe this is something that I could explore further. Dark Glassy Tiger Butterfly (Parantica agleoides agleoides)   The Royal Assyrian (Terinos terpander robertsia)

Too early for  Lion dance!  Golden Orb Web Spider Male and female Palm King Butterflies (Amathusia phidippus phidippus)

Gone Bananas: Brown Shrike

9th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

A Brown Shrike using  a banana tree as a vantage point for hunting. I kept bumping into her in the same area this last couple of weeks.

Female Crimson-Winged Woodpecker

10th January 2010,  Kemensah, Selangor

She’s the more colourful and striking species  of the red and green Woodpeckers, the Crimson-Winged Woodpecker. This is a female without the red  patch on the cheek. (The male)