Finally, my Little Grebe

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis, historically a rare vagrant of Borneo, five records as per Clive Mann's Checklist of Borneo (2008).

However, per Birds i*witness Malaysia, there have been a few more records since 2000, 2 in Guamantong in 2000, Sandakan Bay in 2007, 1 in Kinabatangan in 2010, and 4 in Lahad Datu in 2011.

My friend Jason photographed one in Sukau in 2008.

I finally had a chance to see and photograph this lifer in Tawau on 5th August 2012, in a pond near the Tinagat sea side. It was foraging near the grassy bank of the pond, we managed to take a few record shots before it disappeared into the thick grass.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.



Brown-capped Woodpecker and Grey-capped Woodpecker

Brown-capped Woodpecker Dendrocopus moluccensis and Grey-capped Woodpecker Dendrocopus canicapillus are both small woodpeckers, about 14-15cm and having similar color scheme. When they are high above in tree canopy, identification may be difficult due to small size and constant movements.

If one has a chance to look closely, they are quite different. Their major field identification features are as follows:

a. Brown-capped Woodpecker prefers coastal and cleared forests and in housing estates gardens, Grey-capped prefers primary and secondary forests.

b. Brown-capped Woodpecker's black in its upperparts is more grey-brownish and less contrasty then Grey-capped. Generally the Grey-capped will look blacker than Browned-capped.

c. Brown-capped Woodpecker's underparts lacks rufous wash, while Grey-capped's rufous wash on breast and belly is evident in the field.

Here are images of both species, when you compare them side by side, these features can be easily spotted.

Browned-capped Woodpecker



Grey-capped Woodpecker



Happy birding.


Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.



Another Photographic Record of Breeding Great Egret in Tawau, Sabah, Borneo.

Further to my post of photographic record of Great Egret Ardea alba breeding in Sabah here, the photographs of which should have been published by Suara Enggang now (I am not sure as I have no access to the publication). We located another heronry in Tawau, this is a new site as the old site (the one I took the earlier photos) was cleared for developmnent some time ago. The same occupants as before are found here, they are breeding Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Great Egret and occasionally Rufous Night Heron Nycticorax caledonicus.

We photographed this breeding pair making their nest during our visit in early May 2012, there were quite a number of Great Egret pairs building nest there at that time, this nest was the nearest to us for purpose of taking photograph.

The following two images were taken one week later, clearly showing the top side of white eggs and an adult incubating them with the other standing nearby.

Due to work and other commitments, we did not go back to check them in June and July. On 4th August 2012, we went back to see whether the nesting was successful, we were delighted to see one nest containing three chicks, they were quite large and should fledge soon. We could not be sure whether this was the earlier nest due to growth in surrounding branches.







There was another nest further away containing one chick, however this chick looked much smaller/younger than the other three.

There were other nests seen that day, with likelyhood of more chicks coming.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.





Naturalist's Guide to the Birds of Borneo

My little red book has been published by John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd of UK, it should be widely available in early August 2012, price is 9.99 Sterling Pound.

It contains 280 species, all illustrated by photographs taken by me in Sabah, Borneo. Common English name together with scientific, Malay and Indonesian names are included.

The book has 176 pages, 3 maps, more than 350 photographs and an up-to-date checklist showing the status of each species in each State of Borneo.  Its size of 12.8 cm X 18 cm X 1 cm and weight of 285 gms make it convenient to carry in the field. The cover photos are made up entirely of Bornean endemic birds.

The inside pages typically look like this.

It also includes chapters containing brief description on geography, vegetation and climate as well as birding locations in Borneo.

It represents a giant step in my effort to photodocument the birds of Borneo, many thanks to my publisher who invested in such a venture, as we all know book publishing is a different ball game altogether in this age.

Feel free to write to me if you have any suggestion or encounter any error.

Happy birding.

Edited on 9th October 2013 to add third parties review found in WWW as follows:

In Amazon UK

By IBIS, open the page and search my name.

Comment by Borneo Books.


Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.