John Whitehead (1860-1899) used to be a British explorer who annually beginning in 1885 attempted to climb Mount Kinabalu and after all succeeded in 1888, the primary particular person to take action. When no longer mountaineering, he gathered species, and thus a lot of birds are named after him.
3 of them may also be discovered on Mount Kinabalu, and native hen guides talk admiringly of work-mates who’ve noticed all 3 of them on someday (we simplest controlled two).
Whitehead’s Broadbill is a hen I might by no means had been in a position to search out and not using a information because it cleverly employs a inexperienced plumage to turn into virtually invisible in a inexperienced dark wooded area (I believe it’s quite unexpected that no longer extra birds are inexperienced, as in relation to camouflage, this in point of fact works moderately smartly).
A find out about at the breeding biology of Whitehead’s Broadbill used to be simply printed in Might 2023 however leaves a bit of of a puzzle because the breeding luck is described as moderately top, which means there will have to be different causes for the inhabitants decline of the species.
For Whitehead’s Spiderhunter, the Latin species identify juliae may be hooked up to Mr. Whitehead himself – his sponsor on his explorations used to be the British collector Arthur Hay ninth Marquis of Tweeddale (if Tweeddale feels like I made it up, I swear I didn’t), and this collector’s 2nd spouse used to be Julia Charlotte Sophia Stewart Mackenzie Marchioness of Tweeddale (at the moment, other people infrequently needed to fill out bureaucracy asking for his or her complete identify, and is the reason why there used to be no aversion to long names).
So, like a soccer stadium named after an insurance coverage corporate, the broadbill ended up bearing a reputation celebrating a sponsor.
Curiously, the primary description of a nest of Whitehead’s Spiderhunter used to be simplest printed in 2015.
The possible explanation why for this overdue discovery (in addition to for the overall problem of seeing this spiderhunter although it will not be even that uncommon) is that the hen generally spends maximum of its time very top up within the crowns of bushes – the nest used to be at a peak of nineteen meters.
Just like the broadbill, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter is a Borneo endemic.
Consistent with eBird, the Black-and-crimson Oriole is a “strange-looking, darkish oriole”.
On a reasonably extra clinical stage, a paper explains the plumage colour of the oriole with the presence of keto-carotenoids together with canthaxanthin, adonirubin, astaxanthin, papilioerythrinone, and doradexanthin. In fact, simplest chemists have a coarse concept what that may imply.
I used to be with reference to to remark at the loss of a black cap within the Black-capped White-eye once I learn the eBird description of the species: “Observe this species’s huge white eyering, in addition to its smoky-black brow and lores (in spite of identify, doesn’t have a lot of a black cap).”
Mediocre minds suppose alike.
When seeing a Black-sided Flowerpecker, after all, the primary concept everybody has is “What a fantastic black facet!”
Until, after all, you spot a feminine.
Whilst the Bornean Forktail appears to be like slightly very similar to the White-crowned Forktail, it it appears is a separate species, making it every other Borneo endemic.
The Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush is a Borneo endemic as smartly and is described as being quite common (no longer that I will be able to inform from simply staying at Mount Kinabalu for approximately someday).
Actually, a 2023 paper within the possibly very talked-about magazine “The Malaysian Forester” lists this species as essentially the most frequently encountered within the area tested.
Whilst it’s laudable to put up a paper in regards to the danger to laughingthrushes (together with this) through the hen industry, I nonetheless really feel that lame-joke titles comparable to “Not anything to chuckle about – the continuing unlawful industry in laughingthrushes (Garrulax species) within the hen markets of Java, Indonesia” will have to be have shyed away from. Go away the dangerous jokes to me, please.
Anyway, such hen seize is the primary explanation why for the categorization of the Sunda Laughingthrush as Close to Threatened. That is in particular acute in Indonesia (supply).
This laughingthrush turns out to have a unique style in colour, choosing a light blue eyering moderately than the orange-yellow one of the most earlier one.
The Borneo-endemic Chestnut-crested Yuhina is a cooperative breeder – nearly all of breeding pairs (97%) in a find out about carried out right here at Mount Kinabalu had helpers.
Curiously, simplest about part of the helpers are associated with the breeding pair …
… and simplest those no longer associated with the pair received some parentage, both through sneaking in some intercourse with the breeding feminine or through including an egg. I assume it will no longer be good enough to do that in your personal kin, however with strangers, it’s most likely good enough.
This can be a very dangerous picture of a Fruithunter. I’m simplest together with it as a result of our information used to be roughly eager about it, mentioning that it’s arduous to search out because it does no longer vocalize. Nonetheless, a nasty picture. Will have to had been a digicam fault.
eBird offers the Indigo Flycatcher an overly certain evaluate, calling it a “gorgeous little gem of a flycatcher”.
It sounds as if, Indigo Flycatchers principally hunt in teams, as described right here.
Reasonably superfluously, the paper begins with the moderately pompous commentary “In animal conduct, looking is likely one of the an important actions that may maintain inhabitants sustainability” – is it in point of fact vital to provide an explanation for that birds wish to consume?
The Little Cuckoo-Dove certainly looks as if a move between a pigeon and a cuckoo, although it’s the former, proudly (and for my part, mistakenly) elevating its personal chicks in spite of the prices and annoyances of doing so.
The Latin species identify of the Penan Bulbul is ruficrissus. The HBW explains that rufus approach “pink” whilst crissum approach “vent”, after which for no obvious explanation why (instead of that intercourse sells, possibly?) provides that crissare approach “to copulate”.
It kind of feels the species is more or less the mountain or SUV model of the Ochraceous Bulbul.
Whilst the nominate species of the Mountain Leaf Warbler has a really nice vibrant yellow colour, birdwatchers at Mount Kinabalu need to make do with a much less sexy subspecies, kinabaluensis.
Or to mention it in a reasonably much less judgemental means, as eBird does: “In maximum spaces, birds are yellowish inexperienced above and brighter yellow under; birds on Mount Kinabalu are gray-green above and off-white under.”
Little analysis turns out to had been completed on most of the birds of Mount Kinabalu. This comprises the Sunda Cuckooshrike – the one bit of knowledge I will be able to supply is that the Latin species identify larvata approach masked.
Observe the blackish house across the eyes – it appears, the scale of the masks may be a trademark of the intercourse, with the male having a larger masks, however to me, the hen in my picture turns out to fall proper between the 2 illustrations equipped within the HBW.
So moderately than proclaiming a impartial intercourse and being accused of wokeism, I favor to not make a commentary in regards to the intercourse of the hen within the picture.
Consistent with Wikipedia, there are 20 hen species named after Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858), a Dutch zoologist, although this comprises each Latin and English names in addition to a couple of subspecies. Manner too many, for those who inquire from me … Anyway, this record comprises Temminck’s Sunbird.
Whilst it’s described as a medium-sized sunbird through eBird, one has to understand that sunbirds most often are slightly small and light-weight – the common weight of this species is set 5 grams.
It sounds as if, in case of utmost drought, those birds (and a number of other different Malaysian species described in an article) forestall breeding as a survival tactic.
That may assist those species take care of local weather exchange.
My ID for the feminine is mainly simply in accordance with the truth that it visited the similar tree because the male, so it will smartly be improper – eBird admits that the “feminine Temminck’s could be very simple and tough to differentiate from different sunbirds”.
