What's for lunch?

Kunyit Kacat (Malay) - Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)
Location : Zone C

She was moving about the Mango tree, branch to branch and to the end of branches.  Within seconds she has a mouthful of a young insect snatched from the underside of a leaf.  It could probably be a juvenile praying mantis or a stick insect.  Well, lunch is served.

The "We are together" bird

Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) - Kunyit Kacat (Malay)
Location : Zone C

It is becoming a common bird at the park.  I call it the "We are together" bird.  It produces a long drawn out weeee tu sound.  The weeeee is long and then ends with an abrupt tu.  Or in short -  "We too".  Yes these tiny birds can just be corporate darlings for hasn't it not today's corporate organisations  trying hard,  very hard,  to get 'buy in' from its employees.  Most corporate leaders want their  team to become a formidable fighting force through working together. Back in my corporate days I used the phrase "Cooperate for Excellence" typed at the bottom of memos I signed.  Today, the corporate world is even more competitive and so some organisations even go more intimate in this togetherness thing i.e. using emotional intelligence to get to touch the heart of their workers.  Well, the heart of the matter is how to align the employee or individual personal goals to the organisation goals or mission.  How to touch their hearts?   It is to make them passionate in what ever tasks or job they do.  I am wrong.  It is not job or task, it is fun in whatever they are doing.  How?  Check the answer below:-

" Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens." - Carl Gustav Jong.

The Drunken Sailor and the Common Iora

The Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)  is seen moving about the branches of the 'Nangka tree' ( Artocarpus heterophyllus).  The Drunken Sailor plant (Quisqualis indica)  is  trained to scramble the Nangka tree and its  flowers give added beauty to the fruit tree.

The Drunken Sailor and the Common Iora are both on the same Nangka tree. I watched the Common Iora happily moving about the branches looking for insects.  The Common Iora is becoming evermore common at the park now.  They are often seen in pairs.  They visit the park from very early in the morning till about sunset time.  The Drunken Sailor is trained to climb the Nangka tree with the intention that it will attract many birds to its bunchy clusters of red flowers.

Common Iora preying for tiny insects
Location : Zone C

Weeeeeeeeee-tu

Common Iora - Aegithina viridissima, at the Eugenia oleina tree
Malays call this bird as 'Burung Kunyit Kacat'
Zone C

Recently I noticed many Common Ioras around at the park.  Their favourite hangouts  are the Eugenia oleina and the Jackfruit trees.  At the moment the Eugeina oleina trees are flushing.  There are no fruits or flowers yet.  Thus they are dropping by the trees in search for caterpillars and ants.  They are small birds and mesh well among the leaves.  Their voice however announce their presence.  The distinctive call sounds like this ...Weeeeeeeeeee-tu . 

The Common Iora makes a kill

 A pair of the Common Iora ( Aegithina tiphia) were busy hunting for food at the Cemepdak tree.  The Common Iora does frequent the park but it is doesn't make itself so prominently seen as it is always hopping between the twigs and among the leaves.  They are categorised as leaf birds.  This morning one of the pair  managed to snatch a tiny insect, probably a young grasshopper or praying mantis.  I always get excited every time I have the opportunity to watch them.  They have a very pleasant yellow colour and black wings that have white stripes.  Their calls are melodious.

A pair of Common Iora (Aegthinia tiphia) foraging for food at the Cemepedak tree
Location : Zone C

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".

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.