Tree Monitor - prelude

Further to my earlier post of the Tree Monitor. My good friend, Mr. K O Ku, generously allow me to share these few shots taken by him when the Changeable Hawk Eagle was trying to secure its dinner.

 Holding the Tree Monitor under its claws.

 Struggling to lift its prey on our approach.

Dropped it and watch out for the human approaching.

 The Tree Monitor seems to have expanded in size and 

the Hawk Eagle must have decided by than to leave as the dinner is too hard to secure.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

Standard References for my blog

Tree Monitor

Monitors are the largest of the living lizards. They are swift and active predators of small mammals, birds, bird eggs,  reptiles, amphibians, as well as invertebrates. The Water Monitor Varanus salvator, growing up to 3 meters in length,  is one of the three largest lizards in the world. I have seen large Water Monitors along the tributaries of Kinabatangan, which easily measures up to 3 meters,

Tree Monitor Varanus rudicollis, on the other hand, only grows to about 1.5 meters, half the size of the Water Monitor.

It is a dark, rough necked monitor, widespread in the lowlands. However, many people might not have seen one as it inhibits the forests.

Water Monitor, on the other hand, is widespread but also inhibits in urban environments like rubbish dumps, urban marginal swamps, sewage drains and moonsoon drains adjacent to motorways, is regularly seen and is the commonest road-kills.

This young Tree Monitor was under the claws of a  Changeable Hawk Eagle Spizaetus cirrhatus, but it was too big and heavy for the bird to lift it up into the air. The bird abandoned it while we were approaching. It was quite exhausted and we managed to take some photos before it disappeared itself into the thick undergrowth.

Tree Monitor

Compare to the following picture of a Water Monitor.

Water Monitor

And the Changeable Hawk Eagle that lost its dinner.

Changeable Hawk Eagle

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

Standard References for my blog

Ruddy Kingfisher

Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda is not an easy bird to see in Borneo, it is commoner in north-east Sabah than anywhere in Sarawak where it is rarely seen. It has been collected from coastal, island and inland localities and from mangroves, swamps and old rubber plantation.

There are two races occurring in Borneo, one race being scarce non-breeding winter visitor from mainland Asia H. c. major and the resident race H. c. minor.

H. c. major is a slightly larger bird at 25 to 27 cm compared to 23 cm of H. c. minor, however, since this species always occur singly, ascertaining the race by size alone base on a solitary bird in the field can be deceptive.

During the duration of the just concluded Borneo Bird Festival in October at Rain Forest Discovery Centre in Sepilok, Sandakan, one bird was seen every day feeding at a small pond next to the Woodpecker Avenue. It was the star bird of the Festival, keeping both the bird watchers and bird photographers waiting by the pond to take a good look/image of it.

This image was taken there during the Festival (my new bird). It is of the resident race H. c. minor because of the following distinctive features:-

1. Rich purple wash on the upper parts compare to orange or ruddy-brown for H. c. major, 

2. Rufous chin/throat compare to almost white chin/throat of H. c. major,  and

3. Purple tinged breast which is absent on H. c. major.

Happy birding.

Photodocument of Wild Birds of Borneo

Standard References for my blog