An early morning birding and a lifer

A pair of Black Magpie

 I started early to do birding today by concentrating on the botanic island areas.  Attracted to the calls of the Black Magpie I moved quietly below the tall trees at Botanic Island Two.  Through the trees and leaves I noticed a small party of four  hanging out noisily and reverberating their loud calls over the neighbourhood.  Today's encounter has been one of the closest I had with these birds and thus was able to get better pictures of the bird especially the characteristic red iris against a dark face.  I next came across what I thought was a malkoha and my experience so far has been the Chestnut-breasted Malkoha. But today I met a different malkoha and a lifer at that.  It has  a bluish green back with a grey throat and breast.  Upon closer observation I noticed it has iris of pale blue surrounded by a red patch around the eyes.  Another interesting detail is the under-tail feathers showing broad white tips.  At Licuala Hill I noticed from a distance one black dot at the tip of a branch and guessed it must be the Borean Falconet.  I moved in closer to the tall tree and took a few random shots for the record.  The Bornean Falconet has been seen perching on this same tree before.  Finally after about two hours of birding at the botanic islands area I decided to go home and on the way met a Little Spiderhunter busily enjoying the nectar from the flowers of the Chinese hat plant.  It has been a successful early birding with a lifer.

Black -bellied Malkoha at Botanic island Two -  a lifer!

Bornean Falconet see at Licuala Hill

Little Spiderhunter at Zone C

An unindentified bird

 Last June when the Eugenia oleina trees were fruiting, many birds that were never seen before at the park appeared for the first time.  The three lifers were the Red-crowned Barbet, Blue-eared Barbet and the Brown Barbet.  There was however another bird that remain unidentified and today I have  time to re-look at the pictures I took on the 22nd of June.  My best guess at the moment is that the bird is a leaf bird. But on this third largest island of the world i.e. Borneo, there are many species of leaf birds and upon checking the internet sources for images close to the ones I took, there seem to be none that is the same.  So for record purposes, I'll leave it to time to tell and probably some readers or birders can suggest a name that is true to the pictures. Or could it be that I have found a lost species? (LOL)

The Little Blue-eared Barbet

Little Blue-eared Barbet - Megalaima australis duvauclii
Location : Zone C

Little Barbet loving the berries.

This month of June has beeb rather special in that I have encountered three species of barbet within a week duration.   First came the Brown Barbet, followed by the Many-coloured Barbet and today's sighting has been the Little Blue-eared Barbet.  All seemed to be attracted to the ripe fruits of the  Eugenia oleina tree.  From my observation it is a small bird about 10 -12 cm long.  It has a patch of red below the eye, a pale blue chin and throat, black bill and slightly greenish feet.  Even though it is a common barbet in the lowlands of Sarawak or Borneo, today's sighting is a lifer for me.  It came in as a  pair, unlike the Many-coloured Barbet which came singly.  I noticed its mate seemed to appear from nowhere to join company once its partner makes a call.  The sighting of many barbets this June makes me think that probably June is the breeding season of these birds.  

Female Ruby-cheeked Sunbird

Female of the species - Ruby-cheeked Sunbird (Chalcoparia singalensis)
Zone I

Note the ants being preyed by the bird.

I was pretty excited this morning after a short jungle trekking at Licuala Hill.  Just out of the jungle and into the open area my attention was directed at the 'Senduduk' plant where a tiny bird was actively attacking the ants at the terminal buds.  I quickly zoomed my camera at the target which seemed oblivious of me.  Since it was very early in the morning the lighting conditions were not that perfect but it does provide some 'environmental or mood' content to the picture.  For the record this is the first time that I encounter the female of the Ruby-cheeked Sunbird. Malays call the bird 'Kelicap Belukar'.

View of the 'Senduduk' plant (Melastoma malabathricum)  in the early morning light.
Location :Licuala Hill,  Zone I.

Kelicap Belukar ( Ruby-cheeked Sunbird) - female of the species