Olive-winged Bulbul

Olive-winged Bulbul (Pyconotus plumosus) - note the beautiful olive wings
Location : Zone C

 Today has been another fruitful birding day.  The abundance  of Eugenia oleina trees that are in various stages of fruiting have kept many species of birds busy at the park for many days now.  The birds that appear in flocks or in small parties visiting the fruiting trees are the Philippines Glossy Starling, Brown Barbet, Yellow-vented Bulbul and today a new surprise visitor dropped by.  It was the Olive-winged Bulbul (see inset).  It has black bill, light brown feet and a beautiful olive plumage.  It is a lifer for me.  It doesn't seem to make any calls and was intent on eating the ripe juicy fruits of the Eugenia.  It looked at me curiously and was not in a hurry to fly-off  upon noticing my presence, thus allowing me to get better and clearer shots of it.

Olive-winged Bulbul and the berries of the Eugenia oleina

( This is a re-posting from a birding blog of mine as in here...>>>>http://mybirdingsarawak.blogspot.my/2016/06/olive-backed-bulbul-enjoying-eugenia.html )

What have I goat?

Plaintive Cuckoo - Cacomantis merlinus
Photoshoot on 19 February,2015. 1st day of Chinese New Year (Year of the Goat)
Location : Cempedak Hill, Zone G.

Plaintive Cuckoo at the Cempedak tree, Zone G.

Today is special.  Today after years of living at the park I have the rare opportunity of catching a glimpse of the Plaintive Cuckoo.  This is not to say that it is seldom or very rarely heard at the park.  On the contrary its call is heard everyday in the park especially during early morning hours and around sunset.  After years of birdwatching here and becoming very familiar with its call the moment of truth arrived today when I saw it perching on top of the Cempedak tree broadcasting its familiar call. The sight of it and hearing it making the calls verified to me that it is the bird that has been in my hunting list since the first time I heard the call here.  On this first day of the Chinese  New Year of the Goat at long last I sighted the Plaintive Cuckoo  in clear view.  More importantly it is the confirmation of the bearer of that  familiar call that makes my day.  Yes, I've goat it !!

A lifer - Lesser Cuckoo-shrike

Lesser Cuckoo-shrike
Location : Licuala Hill, Zone I

 Three days ago something amazing happened.  I saw a new bird.  Unfortunately the heightened interest gradually evaporated and finally diminished because of the very poor internet reception at the park.  For the last three days I tried to upload pictures but to no avail.  Tonight there appears to be a window of opportunity as the internet by fluke was able to carry some pictures.  So I am able to tell the story that excited me three days ago tonite.  The story happened when I was birding at Sunset point located at Licuala Hill (Zone I).  While my attention was directed at the Tiongs or Hill Myna birds, I heard an unfamiliar call and tried to search among the tall trees the source of the call.  By a stroke of good luck my eyes were caught by an unfamiliar looking bird perching on a branch some 15 meters away.  I zoomed my camera lens  towards the bird and caught a glimpse of it.  It gave me less than five minutes after which it flew away.  Upon closing in the image I discovered that the bird was a Lesser Cuckoo-shrike, a female of the species for its extensively barred dark grey underparts.  Another identifying feature was the white-tipped feathers  on its dark grey under-tails.  This sighting is  a lifer for me.

Lesser Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina fimbriata)

A new bird in town - Dark-sided Flycatcher

 It has  been two days since I noticed this bird at Zone B but was not able to identify it.  Today she dropped by again at the same location and prompted me to check the literature and pictures about her.  It seemed that this bird is the Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica).  However I'm pretty sure she is still a juvenile and probably born here because she kept on making appearance at the same location for the last two days.  It seemed to be hunting for insects or flies.   I observed that she has a peculiar habit of flying to and fro in between three or four perches nearby. According to the literature, it is a winter visitor to Borneo (or Sarawak for that matter ) from Northern and Central Asia ( Himalayas and Yunnan) . It is my hope that this flycatcher  will remain a regular feature of the park even though once in a year.

Dark-sided Flycatcher ( Musicicapa sibirica)

New sighting - Stork-billed Kingfisher

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
Location : Paya Point, Zone B

 It was on the 3rd of October'14 that I heard the familiar call of a kingfisher around the park.  I went around to search for the bird and sighted it first at the Paya Point among the branches.  It flew away and I followed it to the hilly region of Sunset Point and managed to get a clearer picture of the bird on a tall perch where the Tiong or Hill Myna birds normally rest.  It was the Stork-billed Kingfisher, the first sighting at the park.  The Stork-billed Kingfisher is the largest of kingfishers on Borneo island or Sarawak for that matter.  Even though the picture is not so clear, it serves well as a record.

Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis)
Location : Licuala Hill, Zone I

The Brown Barbet

 Today is the first time I encountered the Brown Barbet ( Calorhampus fuliginosus).  Two pairs of it were hunting for insects and the fruits of the Eugenia oleina.  It was a bit drizzly and they perched on twigs and branches of a dead tree at Zone C nearby the Jackfruit and Eugenia trees. I include this bird among the small to medium-sized birds at the park.  What was obvious to me was the broad bill and stout body of the barbet.  Then I could clearly see the red feet. I noticed too that the underparts are a pale brown to grey from the neck to breast.  The upperpart of the body is brown.