The Birds of Tawau Hills Park - part 2

It has been slightly more than 4 years that I posted a summary of the birds of Tawau Hills Park.

Here are the other birds that I managed to photograph after the earlier posting.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), frequents the pond next to the head quarter building.

Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda jerdoni), often seen far away, but can be seen perch near park headquarter if you are lucky.

Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle (Hieraaetus kienerii), another beauty, can be seen in area around the park.

Great Argus (Argusianus argus), can be encountered along trails and can be quite approachable.

Checker-throated Woodpecker (Picus humii), an interesting woodpecker that occurs in both lowland and montane forests.

Crimson-winged Woodpecker (Picus puniceus). 

Dusky Broadbill (Corydon sumatranus), a bird of the upper canopy in here.

Blue-banded Pitta (Pitta arquata), endemic jewel of the Bornean forests.

Borneo Banded Pitta (Pitta schwaneri), another endemic jewel of the Bornean forests.

Female Blue-headed Pitta (Pitta baudii), yet another endemic jewel of the Bornean forests.

Male Blue-headed Pitta (Pitta baudii), yet another endemic jewel of the Bornean forests.

Male Asian Fairy Bluebird (Irena puella).

Asian Fairy Bluebird (Irena puella).

Yellow-bellied Bulbul (Criniger phaeocephalus)

Grey-cheeked Bulbul (Criniger bres)

Male Rufous-tailed Shama (Trichixos pyrropygus)

Female Rufous-tailed Shama (Trichixos pyrropygus)

White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti)

Male Chectnut-naped Forktail (Enicurus ruficapillus)

Female Chectnut-naped Forktail (Enicurus ruficapillus)

Striped Wren-babbler (Kenopia striata)

Rufous-crowned Babbler (Melacopteron magnum)

Crow-billed Drongo (Dicrurus annectans)

Black Magpie (Platysmurus leucopterus)

There are other interesting birds recorded in Tawau Hills Park before, and I still in need of lots and lots luck to see them here. The list includes Bulwer's Pheasant (Lophura bulweri), Cinnamon-rumped Trogon (Harpactes orrophaeus), White-necked Babbler (Stachyris leucotis), Bornean Wren-babbler (Ptilolocichla leucogrammica).

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo.

Standard References for my blog.

Asian Fairy- bluebird

Asian Fairy-bluebird Irena puella is a striking bird, when seen from its side the male is unmistakable in field identification. It is widespread in Borneo. This is a fruit eating bird that usually forages in pairs in the canopy of large trees, so when seen from  below one usually sees an entirely black and thick-set bird, considerably larger than the bulbuls.

 

The male has only two colors in its plumage, deep velvety black and shiny bright pale blue. The blue extends from the top of the head to the shoulders and  through the back and down  to the under-tail converts

Adult male

The female is almost entirely dull blue, however the blue is entirely different blue from the male, the blue is dull and without gloss, in a different tone, more cobalt and dusky than lively bright.

Adult female

This is an immature bird, the black patches in the breast indicate that it is a male, as female does not have any black in its plumage.

Immature male

Its sex is further confirmed from its side profile, where the still developing shiny bright blue can be seen on its upper-parts.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo 

Standard References for my blog

Tabin Wildlife Reserve 29th November 2009

The last day at Tabin was greeted by the laud singing of this Rufous-tailed Tailorbird Orthotomus sericeus outside the cabin.

 Rufous-tailed Tailorbird

This Black Hornbill Anthracoceros Malayanus was flying over the Resort and perched for a little breather.

Black Hornbill

The fruiting fig near the Resort's reception attracted, among others, Scaly-breasted Bulbul Pycnonotus squamatus and Asian Fairy Blue-bird Irena puella.

 

Scaly-breasted Bulbul

Asian Fairy Blue Bird Male

Asian Fairy Blue Bird Female

While down on the ground, nature lovers were watching in earnest.

This pair of Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris was perched quite a distance away.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Another pair of much rarer White-crowned Hornbill Aceros comatus was perched not far away. I have found the easiest place to take picture of White-crowned Hornbills is here in Tabin.

White-crowned Hornbill

After breakfast we continued to try our luck along the road to the Core Area and was rewarded with a pair of Red-bearded Bee-eater Nictyornis amictus.

Red-bearded Bee-eater Female

 

Red-bearded Bee-eater Male

We went back to the location where we found the White-crowned Forktail Enicurus leschenaulti yesterday to try to get better photograph, and was lucky to see this tiny Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx erithaca. Taxonomy of this species is still not resolved, whether the three forms, C. erithaca, C. rufidorsa, and C. motleyi, that occur in Borneo are separate species or merely three forms of the same species is still undecided.

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher

The White-crowned Forktail showed up later but it kept itself in the scrubs and only managed some record shots.

White-crowned Forktail

Went back to the Resort to pack up our things before going back to Tawau. The ensuing heavy rain, typical in the afternoon in the rainforest, slowed our departure for about an hour.

Heavy rain in the rainforest

Waiting for the rain to stop

The last bird we took picture of along the road to Lahad Datu was these two Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots Loriculus galgulus.

Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot

A group photo of the participants for the trip.

The end and happy birding.