Sukau birding necessarily approach staying in a more-or-less at ease hotel at the banks of the Kinatabagan river, and taking boat excursions on more-or-less rickety boats at the river. The mosquitos and the warmth and the sweat are loose, the accommodations aren’t. That is the way it seems like:
Or at sundown:
A species I didn’t come for from Shanghai is the Black-crowned Night time Heron. Sure, now we have them in Shanghai as neatly. No longer certain why they spend time in Shanghai in iciness when they might come right here although, however alternatively, I most often don’t perceive many of the conduct of people both.
Blue-throated Bee-eaters construct nests on sticks protruding of the water. They give the impression of being crap however probably be offering some coverage for the chicks, although now not from every different (see the murderous actions throughout the nests in my earlier submit).
As a result of those nests glance so unhealthy, I took a bribe from the Affiliation of Bornean Bee-eaters not to display them (in truth, I simply forgot to take a photograph, silly me). So, simply pictures of the birds themselves.
The juvenile within the again has simply stuck one thing. The dad or mum will have to be so proud …
The Sabah Partridge is indexed as Close to Threatened. Its species identify graydoni is in honor of Philip Newenham Graydon (1864-1940), a British planter in Sabah. Why that makes Mr. Graydon worthy of getting a fowl species named after him is a thriller to me.
The HBW calls it a “boldly-marked partridge” whilst eBird is going for “intricately-patterned partridge” which is nearly the other – test for your self which one of the vital two descriptions is nearer to the reality.
And in case you are in Sabah, you’ll be able to additionally test whether or not the fowl is “unusual … all over its vary” (eBird) or moderately “in the community not unusual” (HBW).
Weirdly, a meta-analysis undertaken via Lim and Mojiol quoted within the HBW discovered “Sabah Partridge to be maximum plentiful in business wooded area reserves, and no more so in state-owned spaces and safe reserves”. A fowl with a robust trust in personal belongings, perhaps?
The Massive Frogmouth is this sort of splendidly bizarre fowl species that make birding this type of pleasure, while you recover from the warmth and humidity and mosquitos and leeches of Borneo’s lowlands.
It’s indexed as Close to Threatened – the HBW states that it’s an “unusual or uncommon fowl this is nearly for sure declining owing to destruction of its lowland-forest habitat”.
The HBW additionally remarks that there’s “no obtrusive sexual dichromatism, even though feminine is claimed to be continuously plainer and duller” – my recommendation to HBW group of workers isn’t to make such statements at events, as this would possibly make you slightly unpopular apart from with probably the most boorish of male visitors.
If you wish to know what came about on August 31, 1984, I will be able to identify no less than one match: Within the Padang-Sugihan Flora and fauna Reserve in South Sumatra province, a Massive Frogmouth was once mobbed via a Higher Racket-tailed Drongo, as described right here. At between 4 pm and six pm, to be precise. In fact, many of us nonetheless know precisely what they did when this came about.
It appears, when breeding, the 2 oldsters divide incubation tasks, with one fowl taking up the daylight tasks and some other one the middle of the night. Because of this, a paper describing this talks of the “day shift” and the “evening shift” fowl. The paper could also be value trying out for some moderately adorable pictures of the frogmouth chick.
For some, the glass of water is at all times half of complete. For others, it’s at all times half-empty (I, being extra lifelike than most of the people, most often doubt there may be any glass in any respect). Anyway, the Latin identify of the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher interprets as one thing just like the Purple-bellied Flycatcher (rufigaster is the species identify). Other views.
Whilst this is a very sexy fowl, its habitat in swamps and mangroves it seems that makes it tough for armchair ornithologists to check it, so there are few or no papers at the fowl.
The hornbills of Sukau are featured in a separate submit – they’re one of the vital primary points of interest of this location although.
Ditto for Typhoon’s Stork.
Blue-eared Kingfishers assume that sustainability is essential. They continuously reuse nest holes, thus saving important herbal sources even supposing cleansing out the used nest hollow takes about one week (supply).
Sadly, the Latin species identify meninting does now not discuss with a possible merciless Dutch governor with a sideline in naturalism however is simply the Javanese identify for the Deep-blue Kingfisher. One great little tale for my weblog submit misplaced.
Like different kingfishers, Blue-eared Kingfishers nest in excavated tunnels – however in comparison to different kingfishers, those tunnels appear to be reasonably quick with a median period of best 25 cm. A kingfisher with a moderately poor paintings ethic, I assume. Or speluncaphobia?
The Stork-billed Kingfisher is far larger and more uncomplicated to peer.
Some scientists at Chittagong College, Bangladesh noticed the conduct of Stork-billed Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher at – bet the place – Chittagong College campus (probably they’ve some issues expensing go back and forth prices).
They noticed the Pied Kingfisher endeavor 8 actions whilst the Stork-billed Kingfisher was once noticed acting best 6. The 2 lacking ones had been soaring (too large, too fats, too lazy, I assume) and bathing. The final level makes me fear slightly about getting too with reference to Stork-billed Kingfishers. Possibly they develop into reasonably pungent? I didn’t get shut sufficient to determine although.
The Collared Kingfisher is much more not unusual – it may continuously be noticed sitting on wires and posts alongside the principle roads.
So not unusual that my native fowl information in truth gave the species for instance of a quite common fowl he was once nonetheless glad to peer all the way through the COVID lockdown when it confirmed up in his yard.
The resident model critic of eBird isn’t very inspired with the Orange-backed Woodpecker, pointing out that it’s “dressed all in patchwork”.
It has one of the vital extra stupid-sounding genus names – Reinwardtipicus, which is made up of the identify of Dutch naturalist Prof. Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt and picus, this means that woodpecker, with the ti that connects the 2 portions perhaps additionally having some more or less which means. That is best in part compensated via the species identify validus (robust), of which probably the species is reasonably pleased with.
Most likely now not fascinating to anyone apart from me, the HBW profile of the fowl has a short lived segment at the creator, Chuenchom Hansasuta, who won a Physician of Dental Surgical treatment from Chulalongkorn College in Bangkok. I keep in mind that when I used to be nonetheless a analysis chemist growing dental fabrics, I as soon as gave a presentation at that college, which was once adopted via my receiving a hideous and really colourful plate as a present in a while. With an image of the then-queen of Thailand on it, if I bear in mind accurately. So, reasonably perhaps that made me devote lese majeste once I comfortably “forgot” the plate in my lodge room when leaving Bangkok – a room in a lodge that was once moderately prominent via all vaguely sexy younger ladies coming into the lodge having to go away their ID playing cards on the reception. Looking back, it more or less makes me surprise what symbol the organizers who booked the lodge for me had of German educational guests …
Such a lot for my quasi-madeleine second, although in fact much less emotionally sexy than the only described via Mr. Proust. Again to birds.
The Oriental Darter is assessed as Close to Threatened – the explanations are the standard ones: habitat loss, searching, and air pollution. Humankind, you probably did it once more, congratulations.
The Latin species identify melanogaster highlights the black abdominal of the fowl (melanos = black, gastros = abdominal). A pal of mine who’s slightly terrified of snakes thinks of it because the snakebird although, which isn’t unreasonable given the snake-like neck of the fowl.
The Pacific Swallow is the resident swallow right here – in iciness, it’s it seems that joined via an abundance of barn swallows that don’t benefit from the coldish iciness in puts equivalent to Shanghai.
In line with eBird, the barn swallow has longer outer tail feathers and a gloomy line setting apart the throat and breast which can be missing within the Pacific Swallow. Then again, it’s best to not name a Pacific Swallow short-tailed as they may regard this as insulting, in particular the men.
Crimson Herons aren’t quite common and reasonably shy in Shanghai whilst right here, they behave like they personal where.
The species identify of the Scarlet-rumped Trogon, duvaucelii, makes it sound slightly love it is subsidized via a battery manufacturer however it in point of fact simply commemorates Alfred Duvaucel (1796-1824), a French naturalist who perhaps was once killed via a tiger in Madras (supply), although some other supply has him killed via a rhinoceros (in those areas, there are lots of such possible choices to be had). I assume he will have to have caught with the considerably much less bad trogons.
Male (pink breast) and feminine (orange)
The Scarlet-rumped Trogon is assessed as Close to Threatened regardless of being it seems that nonetheless reasonably not unusual on Borneo. It’s the smallest of all trogons.
Its blue eyebrow makes it glance love it both is repeatedly unsure about something or different, or a long-time player in some more or less cosplay.
The Commonplace Iora (species identify tiphia) it seems that will get its identify from Tiphys of Greek mythology, the pilot of the Argonauts. And the Argonauts had been a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who within the years prior to the Trojan Struggle accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to search out the Golden Fleece (please glance up for your self who Jason was once, the place Colchis is and what the Golden Fleece was once).
Tiphys died both of a snakebite or of a mysterious sickness however he was once now not killed via both a tiger or a rhinoceros. Fortunate him, proper? Regardless that he ended up useless anyway.
My unfounded bet is that there could be a hyperlink between the Golden Fleece and the yellow colour of the Iora – goldenfleecii would sound more or less silly as a species identify, and why now not blow their own horns along with your classical training when there’s a likelihood to take action?
Then, there are raptors. The Bat Hawk basically eats bats, because the identify suggests – in a interestingly exact commentary, Wikipedia claims that 49.3% of its hunts are a hit. Different helpful data within the Wikipedia article contains the factoid that it displays very fast ingestion charges, taking over reasonable 6 seconds for the prey to succeed in the tummy after seize (motto of this weblog: We learn Wikipedia for you so that you should not have to).
A Crested Serpent Eagle, shopping slightly ridiculous after a rain.
This can be a juvenile Gray-headed Fish Eagle, except it’s some other fish eagle just like the Lesser (the loss of any gray head makes me doubt the id slightly, however it sort of feels juveniles can’t have enough money a gray head but).
A paper at the Gray-headed Fish Eagle states that it “most well-liked nesting nearer to everlasting water than anticipated” – which makes me surprise who on earth has particular expectancies about the most well liked nesting distance of the eagle from water. Smartly, it sort of feels such other folks exist.
This can be a Jerdon’s Baza – the HBW warns that it will simply be puzzled with a number of different raptors, and It’s not that i am that just right a birder.
The e-book “Raptors of the Global” describes it as a “sluggish-looking” fowl, which moves me as slightly bizarre for a raptor.
The baza is known as after British zoologist Thomas Caverhill Jerdon (1811 – 1872). His Wikipedia access has its fair proportion of needless however a laugh data on him: “In his non-public issues he was once stated to be careless and forgetful. He continuously had bother together with his collectors and all the way through the time of his dying, he was once discovered to be bancrupt. Jerdon has additionally been famous as being rash. On one instance, he attempted catching a cobra via the tail and were given bitten at the tip of finger which he slashed with a pocket knife. He was once additionally just about strangled via a puppy python that he stored.
Every other “perhaps that is” species: a conceivable Wallaces Hawk-eagle. I will be able to write extra about it in a later submit, as I noticed it nesting at Sepilok.
The overall fowl of this submit is the White-bellied Sea-eagle, a species that the HBW thankfully describes as unmistakable. The creator of the HBW access is similar feminine Thai dentist named within the Woodpecker segment – she turns out to have a virtually frightening obsession with plumages, going to nice lengths to explain the other ones. I believed this sort of obsession was once restricted to gull fanatics, however it sort of feels I used to be incorrect.
In spite of everything, I’m glad to percentage some helpful hints for photographers with you. This is one: when taking pictures of elephants, an 800 mm tele lens isn’t the most productive apparatus. Although – as in Borneo – the elephants are relatively small (they’re in truth known as Borneo pygmy elephants).
If that triggers you to go looking your mind for long-lost wisdom and get a hold of the time period “insular dwarfism“, congratulations – you as soon as discovered one thing, even supposing it was once more than likely a very long time in the past and does now not have any sensible use for you presently as it’s not even continuously requested for in crossword puzzles.
If now not realizing this data any more and thus suspecting you could be affected by dementia, there are at all times every other animals round to facilitate assisted suicide.
Then again, chances are you’ll take convenience from the reality that you are going to by no means be as unsightly as this far away relative of yours.
