Rufous-fronted Babbler

Rufous-fronted Babbler Stachyris rufifrons is a rare lowland and submontane resident of Borneo from sea-level to 1,530 meters. It is a slope specialist occurring in lowland and hill dipterocarp and lower montane forest, kerangas, bamboo, Albiza plantations, Dillenia saplings and scrub on basic soils.

Clive Mann, in his Birds of Borneo, mentioned that the Borneo race recorded as S. r. poliogaster, the race from Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia,  was presumably in error. Bornean race should be S. r. sarawacensis, and there is a specimen of sarawacensis in the Natural History Muzium, Tring, UK,  from G. Sidong taken at 370 meter.

Smythies recorded both races and the Sabah birds are allocated to S. r. sarawacensis, which is the endemic race..

This genus is  in the process of being dismantled, Craig Robson and Susan Myers have taken this species out from Stachyris and put under the genus Stachyrisopsis.

Like other babblers, their habits of foraging in dense foliage in lower to mid-storey and their typical skulking behaviours make photographing them a real frustrating affair. At 11 cm, their small size makes them even tougher to spot in the less than ideal light under the forest cover and thick undergrowth. They are usually heard but seldom spotted in clear view.

After hearing them but failed to locate them in numerous previous occasions, I was lucky to be rewarded with these  record shots of this small bird. The images were taken in Tawau.

This is my lifer, making my photographed wild birds of Borneo count to #317.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo 

Standard References for my blog

Bornean Horseshoe Bat

Horseshoe bats are small to medium sized bats with an elaborate noseleaf. The anterior section is rounded and horseshoe-shaped. In the middle behind the nostrils is a raised portion called the sella. Behind this is the posterior noseleaf which raises to a long lancet-shaped point. The shape of the sella and the connecting process which joins it to the posterior leaf varies between species and is a useful diagnostic character. The ears are large with a prominent fold on the outside edge, the antitragus. The eyes are small and often partially hidden by the noseleaf. The tail is moderately long and almost completely enclosed within the interfemoral membrane.

In other words, they have a distinctive looking face, which is unmistakable.

This Bornean Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus borneensis was discovered in a drain while we were out photographing birds. It would not hung still and was moving incessantly making photographing it in the dark drain even more challenging. Here it is, a fat and cute looking Bornean Horseshoe Bat.

Bornean Horseshoe Bat

 The distinctive hoseshoe shaped noseleaf

Happy birding.

Reference :
Junaidi Payne and Charles M. Francis (2005),  A Fieldguide to the Mammals of Borneo, Kota Kinabalu : The Sabah Society.

Rufous-tailed Shama

Unarguably, to the human ears, the best song bird in Borneo is the Straw-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus zeylanicus, the remaining three best song birds, however, are all from  the Robins. Their beautiful songs are undoubtably their curse as well,  for they are being extensively trapped, caged and traded in their range as pet birds for their ability to sing.

The other bird which has a bright and melodious song  that I have encountered in the field is the Rufous-crowned Babbler Malacopteron magnum, it sounded in the same league as the Shamas.

Rufous-tailed Shama Trichixos pyrropygus is a scarce resident of the lowlands, from sea level to 900 meter. Its song, a series of loud mournful whistles is not as varied and melodious as compared to its two  cousins, the White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus and the North Bornean endemic White-crowned Shama Copsychus stricklandii. This could be a blessing for the Rofous-tailed as it is not as commonly seen as caged bird as compared to the other two Shamas in Borneo. In Sabah, I have regularly seen White-crowned Shama and Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis being kept as pet birds but have not come across a Rufous-tailed Shama being caged, whether they are not as common in the wild or they are not as popular, I am not sure.

Here is my lifer, a male Rufous-tailed Shama, taken in Tawau, making my photographed wild birds of Borneo count to #316.

Rufous-tailed Shama Male

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo 

Standard References for my blog