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.  

A lifer of a blue flycatcher

Eumyias indigo
Zone F

 What makes my day today is the capture of the blue flycatcher.  It's a lifer for me and for the Kambatik park.  Today is the first time I stumbled upon a blue flycatcher.  I first met it at Zone F and then followed its movement to Zone D about 100 meters away before it disappeared into the surrounding forest.  Is it a  female of the species?  Is it the Indigo Flycatcher ( Eumyias indigo) that is a native to the island of Borneo and therefore Bintulu?  The literature mentions that the Indigo Flycatcher is a resident of the highlands and less frequently seen below 3000 ft above sea level, that is in the lowland dipterocarp hill forest where the park is situated.  At first sight I saw it jumping and hopping on the leaves-covered ground for insects and was not particularly scared of my presence.  Whats striking about the upperside of the bird was the deep blue colour of its crown right down to its back.  In most descriptions the throat and breast is blue but in this specimen it is white.  Does this mean that it is a female of the species?  I have yet to determine this and it is my fervent hope that it will drop by again at the park soon with a mate. to confirm my observation.  Hopefully that day is near.

Indigo Flycatcher ( Eumyias indigo)
Zone D

Photoshoot session with the Blue-throated Bee-eater

 I was fortunate today to be greeted by two Blue-throated Bee-eaters.  It was an up-close and personal session which has been rare lately.  Today the weather was hot and humid and like what the weatherman has predicted on the local tv news will herald the coming of the El Nino phenomena.  Some gusts of wind have brought many swarms of bees to the park which were the target of these bee-eaters.  Here's more pics of its beautiful chestnut mantle, blue throat and greenish blue breast.....

Note the dark brown iris

Blue-throated Bee-eater - Berek-Berek (Malay)
Merops viridis
Family : Meropidae

The elusive Black-headed Bulbul

The black-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus atriceps)

Note the black berry it snatched...

Though the literature about this bird says that it is a common bird in Southeast Asia but try looking for it around the neighbourhood. Hardly.  At the Kambatik park, they seem to be arriving in considerable numbers now that a certain jungle tree shrub is flowering and producing small black berries.  I have not been able to name the shrub yet.  When I saw it this afternoon, it was perching on a nearby branch before it snatched a berry while hovering.  Two beautiful things about this bird is the striking yellow colour of its body with a black hood.  It's call is very crisp and rings throughout the park.  They come very early in the morning and can be heard throughout the day till late afternoon.  From a distance it is not easily recognizable for its yellow feathers and you need to track its call to observe the beauty of its yellow body.

Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul
Pycnonotus brunneusLocation : Provinsi Carpentaria, Zone F.

The Emerald Dove

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - 'Punai Tanah' in Malay, to mean ground pigeon.
Family : Columbidae - Pigeon family

Today I have been exceptionally lucky.  For many years I have seen the 'Punai Tanah' (Malay) flying low and fast at the park but could not take a picture of it.  Today it came out of the dim forest cover and gave me a glimpse of its eyes above which was a white stripe, red bill and beautiful jade green wings.  I know that they are nesting at the park especially at the preserved forest area around the Provinsi Rattan near Zone I.  It's presence has given me a new hope that the forest ecology at the park is gradually being rehabilated.

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.