Steady with the food...

Common Iora with caterpillar in beak
Location : Zone F, at Rambutan tree..

 Oh, what a sight!  So delighted to see the iora bird catching a caterpillar.  There were two of them, probably a pair of which one was not so easy to see because it was moving among the leaves.  With its small size it was undetectable except for those moments when it edged the end of branches.  The last time I sighted it was barely a month ago.  Though the literature states that it is a common bird in the lowland forest of Borneo, my experience tells me that its only once in a while that it will brave itself out of the forest and enjoy the park view.  It was seen  hunting for caterpillars at the Rambutan tree and then the Jering tree.  At the rambutan tree it managed to snap at a tiny caterpillar.  The top picture tells the story.....

Note: This cu pic I took while birding at the Pustaka Sarawak grounds (State Library) earlier this month.
In Malay the bird is called " Kunyit Kacat".

It hoovers like a hummingbird

Little Spiderhunter - hoovering like a hummingbird

 Its behaviour is just like a hummingbird especially when it hoovers in front of the heliconia bracts to have a go at the nectar.  But there aren't any hummingbird at the park.  Instead we have an equivalent in the Little Spiderhunter that makes the park its home. With its bill gently curved it makes good fit into the shape of the bract, thus enabling it to enjoy the nectar and other nutrient insects gathered at the base of the bracts.  Surprisingly, I do notice it on many occasions piercing the bract from outside to reach at the nectar. 

Photoshoot session with the Common Iora

Common Iora - Aegithina tiphia

 Today is a rare opportunity and a first encounter for me with the Common Iora.  It is a small bird that hopped about from tree to tree and could easily keep itself out of sight in between the leaves the next second around.  Probably for that matter it is classified under the family Aegithinidae which incorporates such birds like the leaf birds and the blue birds.  It is seen hunting for ants on the leaves on the twigs and end branches.  It is typically a forest bird but today it has gone out to town and be photoshooted.  Here's more shoots at today's session...

This is the male of the species, identified by the the bright yellow forehead and crown

Note the black wings with two broad white wing bars.