Retired Teacher

Black-thighed Falconet   (in Malay, Helang Belalang meaning ‘Grasshopper Eagle’) Falconets are the smallest birds of prey, not much bigger than a sparrow.    Female falconets are on average larger and have longer tails than the males.   Such sexual dimorphism is generally true of birds of prey.   Eurasian Tree Sparrow Falconet Weight (grams) 24 35 Length (cm) 14-15 15-18 cm. Wingspan (cm) 21 30   This is another bird with disruptive camouflage.   It is more difficult to see than my cropped photos would suggest.   Listen for its call: either a high-pitched shiew ( https://www.xeno-canto.org/317255 ) or a repeated kli-kli-kli-kli ( https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/203918251 ) The falconet’s original habitat would have been open woods, forest edges, fields, and beside streams.   In our time it is frequently fo...

  Oriental Honey-buzzard / Helang Lebah / Pernis ptilorhynchus As both its Malay and English names indicate, this bird has a specialist diet.   When it can, it plunders bee and wasp nests.   Honey buzzards will follow bees (or wasps) back to their nest.   Once a nest is found it is broken open and the larvae are eaten; not the honey.   Accordingly, the Malay name, Helang Lebah (‘bee eagle’) is more accurate.   If bees are unavailable it will also eat small mammals, nestling birds, worms, and- more unusually- fruit and berries. This bird was preening its feathers before looking in my direction. Another inaccuracy of the English name is that the honey-buzzard is not a buzzard .   Buzzards, properly, are broad-winged hawks of the genus Buteo , whereas the Honey-buzzard is in a different genus, Pernis .   The confusion is understandable, however.   Young of the European Honey-buzzard ( Pernis apivorus) look like the Common Buzzard, Buteo but...

  Coppersmith Barbet (in Malay, Takur Akar) Barbets are large-headed, heavy-billed birds with short necks and a pudgy body. The name ‘barbet’ is from the bristles around their bills .   About 15 species of barbet occur in Malaysia, mostly in deep woodland. The coppersmith barbet is an exception, as it is commonly found in gardens and open woodland.   Courtship behaviour: bobbing the head and flicking the tail. The coppersmith barbet has a “tuk… tuk… tuk” call that reminded some listeners of a smith striking copper with a hammer to make pots and pans.  Other people liken these birds to a metronome because the call can continue at a steady beat for as long as two minutes! ( https://www.xeno-canto.org/290585 ) Barbets are in the same family as woodpeckers. However, unlike woodpeckers, barbets mostly eat fruit; they also can catch and eat flying termites.   While figs are preferred, they are known to eat the fruit of more than 60 different trees. The r...

  Asian koel (in Malay, Burung Tuwu) Koels eat fruits and berries and can be found in semi-wooded areas, often in or near cities. Although they are large birds (length about 40 cm and weight 200 grams) they are quite secretive.   The reason for secrecy is that koels are ‘brood parasites.’ The female does not make her own nest. Instead she lays her eggs in the nest of other birds, known as ‘hosts.’ The most common host in Malaysia is the House Crow. The crow parents have to work harder to raise an extra nestling! Male koel - looking at the camera. I walked away and got some squirrel photos.  I returned to get the photo below.  When I left the bird was undisturbed and still singing. Female koel-  different tree, different day. Close-up Since there is no nest, there is no territory that needs to be defended.  Therefore, the females move around looking for i) crow nests and ii) boyfriends.  Since females are on the move, male koels have to advertise them...

Most birds are camera shy.  They dislike the sound of the zoom motor and more so the light reflected from the lens.  Hence, many photos are bits and pieces of birds.  Sometimes there are enough field marks visible to clearly establish an identification. More often, I am left 'in the dark', metaphorically speaking. Can you spot a small yellow bird in this photo? It is upside down. We are looking at its breast / belly. Can you see it now? It has move so that instead of being entirely behind the leaves its head has emerged from the foliage. Its head is iridescent dark green, almost black. Here is the bird using digital zoom.  It is a brown-throated sunbird.  Had it flown deeper into the foliage, instead of coming into plain view, I would have been unable to move this from the  no idea  cases to the solved cases.  This is not a good photo in the artistic sense, but it is good enough for a field checklist. My binoculars are more 20 years old and have ...

About a month ago, I was looking for interesting birds to photograph in Taman Tasik Menjalara.  Here is a somewhat out-of-focus yellow-vented bulbul.  Quite likely, I had set the camera to Scene mode, rather than Bird mode.  The reason for this habit is that I have missed out on a few interesting birds when I walk with the lens zoomed out to the max and the setting on Bird mode.  If instead I put the camera in Scene mode with only moderate zoom I can get one quick photo of the bird and its surroundings without having to refocus or re-aim.  In bird photography I find that every split second counts, especially with small active birds.   If the bird remains in place   I switch modes and zoom in for a better picture.  Were I better at identifying bird song I could keep the camera setting locked to Bird mode. This is how one thing leads to another with hobbies that I take up.    In this instance, however, I noticed a flash of blue o...

 Plantain Squirrel (in Malay, Tupai Pinang) This squirrel is chewing the bark of a fig tree.  The tree had ripe figs, which the squirrel ignored. This squirrel is eating flowers of a Trumpet Tree ( Tabebuia sp.), presumably to get the nectar together with some small insects.  These trees are native to South America and those in Taman Tasik Menjalara  appear (at least to me) somewhat deficient in birds.  However, the squirrels are appreciative. The same park, a different squirrel, a different flower being eaten. These squirrels also eat insects, bird eggs, leaves and fruits- including mango, jackfruit, and coconuts. Hence they are considered a pest by farmers. Black Giant Squirrel (in Malay, Tupai Kerawak Hitam) I saw a pair of these squirrels in a very tall eucalyptus tree in Kepong Metropolitan Park.  This is one moment I regretted not having brought my tripod.    A drey, or nest, was under construction.