obSerVaTioN oF iNcreaSed migraTioN oF The liTTle cormoraNT iN PeNiNSUlar malaYSia | AMAR-SINGHHSS
reQUeST · I’m revising my book, Pittas, Broadbills, and Asites, which was published in 1996. I am seeking new information, since 1995, that might be worthwhile including.
The kind of things I am looking for are descriptions of nests, dates of nesting, unusual behaviour, new distributional or altitudinal records, as well as other information which you might feel worth sending. I am also trying to track down verified records of Fairy Pittas, especially from Sabah (prior to 1995 there were no confirmed records at all from Sabah).
If you are willing to contribute I will of course cite you in the revision. If you also have useful information from elsewhere in the region on pittas or broadbills, I would of course be happy to receive that as well.
Please write to [email protected] to submit information. I’d appreciate it very much if you do not send me information via my Facebook page or any or other Facebook or social utility page where this notice appears.
I will also be looking for good quality photographs to include in the book, as the publisher hopes to include photographs of all species and distinctive subspecies, both of male and female as well as young birds if possible.
Many thanks, and good birding, Frank Lambert
send me information via my Facebook page or any or other Facebook or social utility page
introDuction
The Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger is a rare, localised migrant and non-breeding visitor to Peninsular Malaysia (MNS-BCC 2013). Available reports in Peninsular Malaysia prior to 1999 support a “... handful of sightings on the Malaysian West-Coast ...” in the 1980s (Wells 1999). There have been scattered reports of individual birds seen since which include Sungai Cenang, Langkawi, Kedah in 2007 (Jeyarajasingam 2012); Bidor, Perak in 2007 (Jeyarajasingam 2012); Pantai Cenang, Langkawi, Kedah in 2009 (Jeyarajasingam 2012); Marang River, Terengganu in 2009 (MNS-BCC 2013); Taiping, Perak in 2011 (Kim-Chye Lim & Swee-Yian Lim, pers.comm). In 2012 Connie Khoo, Eve Tung and the author saw a single bird for an extended migration period (2012-2013) in the Tambun Interior ex-mining pool area, Ipoh, Perak.
This communication is to report an increased sighting of Little Cormorants in Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. It is based on two visits to a wetland in south Perak, on 10th and 11th August 2013. During the first visit the author was accompanied by his wife, Swee-Im Lim. Verification was also obtained from a visit to the same site by Jing-Yi Tou on 29th August 2013 (Jing-Yi Tou, pers.comm.). The location is an ex-mining pool area with some ponds converted into duck and fish farming, south of Tanjung Tualang, Perak at coordinates 4˚15’37.09”N, 101˚2’55.37”E. Solitary birds were also seen on 11th August 2013 just after Malim Nawar, Perak but this report will focus on the larger group seen.
oBSerVationS oF tHe little corMorant
On 10th August 2013 two observers saw a flock of 12 Little Cormorants flying past in groups of 2, 3 and 7. Flight was in one direction and the joint opinion was that there were at least 12 birds present. A second observation on 11th August 2013 revealed 5 birds. A third observation on 29th August 2013 showed 13 birds. All the birds seen were adults. A number of feeding episodes were also observed.
Of interest was a prolonged episode of kleptoparasitism by a Little Egret Egretta garzetta. One Little Cormorant was foraging in the shallower section of a pond. The Little Egret on the edge of the pond would follow the Little Cormorant and attempt to take the fish whenever the Little Cormorant surfaced with prey. This went on for quite awhile until they passed out of our sight.
DiScuSSion
The presence of more than a dozen Little Cormorants at one wetlands location in Perak argues well for seeing more of these migrants as well as the possibility that local breeding may take place in the future. It is possible that the presence of this bird is underreported.
REFERENCES1 Jeyarajasingam,AandPearsonA.2012.A Field Guide to the Birds of
Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (Second Edition). Oxford:OxforduniversityPress,
KlePToParaSiTiSm oF dog-Faced WaTer-SNaKeS bY heroNS, egreTS aNd WaderS | JAMESOOIANDTANCHOOENG
plovers, stints, and other small sandpipers ignore the snake, albeit showing no fear of it. On one occasion we saw a Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus ignoring the snake (this wader is predominantly a crab-feeder), and we have not seen any Common Greenshanks T. nebularia, which are abundant at the site, and noticeably larger than the Common Redshanks, paying any attention to water snakes.
Three species of waterbirds at one time have been seen waiting for the water snake to “flush” out mud-skippers from their burrows on the mudflats. On occasion, Great Egrets, a Grey Heron and pond-herons have been seen to prod or tentatively peck the snake. It is not certain what the purpose of these ‘pecks’ are, the birds seem curious rather than aggressive. However, much more aggressive behavior has been observed when the snakes catch prey. A Great Egret was observed by Dave Bakewell, raining down vicious blows at the head and body of the snake, drawing blood and gouging
flesh in an apparent (successful) attempt to get the snake to release its prey.
Interestingly, the snakes have at no time been seen to take evasive action when under attack, either in seeking to escape or fighting back. While hunting, they appear to be completely oblivious of the attentions of the birds, and, even when attacked, they are passive victims, and lie inert for some time after having been robbed of prey. Since they have no apparent defensive mechanism to escape the inevitable attentions of waterbirds, one wonders how they continue to survive. Perhaps they hunt at night when they may be afforded some concealment (although even then, Black-crowned Night-herons may still predate them).
The maximum number of water snakes we have seen on the Sg Abdul mudflats is two—close to each other, both being followed by waterbirds.
We are not aware of any published report of the above mentioned behaviour.
During the Malaysian Nature Society Pulau Pinang Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) counts and Branch Birding trips to the Teluk Air Tawar–Kuala Muda IBA, Pulau Pinang, from the end of 2012 to early 2013, branch members frequently observed one or more Dog-faced Water Snakes Cerberus rynchops foraging on the mudflats at low tide at the mouth of Sungai Abdul. At times we noticed that waterbirds seemed to be following the snake and on one occasion we found a Common Redshank Tringa totanus in a tug-of-war with a snake over a Blue-spotted Mudskipper Boleophthalmus boddarti with the Common Redshank successfully snatching the mudskipper from the snake and consuming it.
We wondered why some of the larger waterbirds like the Grey Herons Ardea cinerea and Great Egrets Casmerodius albus did not prey on these snakes, as they are known to take eels of similar length and even large catfish that are stranded on the mudflats when the tide receded.
The Dog-faced Water Snake is a fairly common snake found in coastal mangroves (in addition to more inland wetlands) throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Its prey is usually fish in salt or brackish waters, but will include frogs in more inland areas like paddyfields.
In subsequent observations, we noticed that some waterbirds were following the snake so as to steal any mudskipper or gobies caught by the snake, or to snatch fish escaping from the snake as it entered a fish’s burrow. The following species have been observed by us to practise inter specific kleptoparasitism (rather than opportunistic stealing) on the water snakes; Great Egret, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Grey Heron, Javan Pond-heron Ardeola speciosa, Common Redshank and Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax. Thus far, we have observed only Great Egret, Little Egret and Common Redshank being successful. Not unexpectedly, smaller waders like sand
As regular birders to the Panti Forest Reserve in Johor state, we had been hoping to see the elusive and near-threatened Grey-breasted Babbler for a long time. There was a reported sighting of the babbler about 3 years ago at the Panti forest so we knew they were around, if just a bit scarce. A couple of days before our 27 July 2013 trip to Panti Forest, we decided to try again for this seldom seen babbler. Reading up on the species, we understood it to be a peat swamp specialist. So the plan was to visit a freshwater swamp habitat at dawn when babblers are most active.
We reached the spot before daybreak. Due to rain the day before, it was quite wet, ideal conditions. In the distance we heard a babbling song. But it was too far away and didn’t sound exactly like what we thought it should sound like, so initially we dismissed it as a Sooty-capped Babbler.
We waited a while longer, still hopeful. A pair of Grey-headed Babblers Stachyris poliocephala turned up. The far-away babbler started singing again and we got suspicious. The song got closer and the bird flew in and perched on an
open branch and started to sing. Lifting our binoculars, we could see the arched, broad, white superciliums, white throat and the grey breast. Bingo, “Grey-breasted Babbler, grey-breasted!” We got good views and opportunities to record images in the typical dark forest environment.
oBSerVationS
The habitat was approximately 2 km2 of freshwater swamp with some standing water, with very slow flow rates. It was in a lower spot beyond which the terrain rose slowly and the freshwater swamp ended.
The birds seemed to be most active in the morning from 6.30 to 9.30 am. They started singing far off and sang for a long spell without any movement. They were quiet when in flight. They typically perched on upright or angular thin trunks and sang continuously. Generally they were at 2 to 4 meters off the ground on small trees. They were seen probing the backs of leaves for insects, but they were not seen on the ground.
We observed babbler waves consisting of Grey-headed, Short-tailed Malacocincla malaccensis and White-chested Babblers Trichastoma rostratum, but
the Grey-breasted Babblers did not join in. Typically the latter flew in singly or in a pair to perch and sing.
The songs heard had several variations but in general were repeated, and continuous renditions were typical. At least one of the variations was mainly a regular three note call. The songs heard were a bit different from those recorded in Borneo.
At least one of the birds was clearly in moult in wing coverts, primaries and tail feathers as seen in the photos.
DeScriPtionS
The crown was greyish with hint of pale median crown stripe. The forehead was white linking up with the arched broad white superciliums. The superciliums are thicker before the eyes and ending thinner around the reddish brown irises. The dark greyish lores and headsides contrasted sharply with the white supercilium and throat. The throat was white, forming distinct brackets with greyish headsides. The greyish bill was thick with longish nasal slits.
The nape was greyish contrasting with brownish upperparts. The grey breast band diffused to
whitish belly with buffish flanks and vents. The buffish vent diffused to whitish undertail coverts. The feet appeared flesh-coloured up to ankle with greyish tarsi. The outer tails were moulting and the wing coverts were worn.
DiScuSSion
There is a dearth of knowledge about Grey-breasted Babbler’s habits. Hopefully this sighting adds a bit to the record and more will be learned in the future.
Downloadedfrom http://www.birdlife.org on07/12/2013.2 http://xeno-canto.org/recording-embed.php?XC=34486.3 Jeyarajasingam,A.2012.A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia
and Singapore. London:Oxford.4 Robson,C.2005.New Holland field guide to the birds of South-east Asia.
They may have a very different night life, but fireflies and migrating egrets sometimes share the same trees at night. The estuary of the Selangor River and its mangroves are famed for both firefly ecotourism and bird watching. Thousands of the firefly (Pteroptyx tener) congregate on berembang trees (Sonneratia caseolaris) lining the river to perform their nightly displays. And in the nearby Kuala Selangor Nature Park, a total of 162 species of migratory and resident birds have been found, according to a 2010 checklist.
Our team members in the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia’s (FRIM) Entomology Branch, who are not accomplished birders, have been monitoring the firefly population along the Selangor River since 2006 using night photography. We chanced on some interesting observations on egrets: during the migration
season, a flock of these birds regularly roosted at night on the same berembang trees on which the fireflies congregate to display their marvelous nuptial lights. We observed this to occur slightly downstream of the Bukit Belimbing Park Resort where nipah palms (Nypa fruticans) are also found. The egrets were observed there from late 2011 to April 2012, and again from October 2012 to February 2013. They gradually increased from about three to thirty birds, but they were absent in previous years in which we monitored the site.
At first we couldn’t quite figure out what the white blotches in our photographs were, but upon zooming into the image, we realised that they were actually egrets. The distance from our camera to the trees was about 100 meters. At that distance in the dark of moonless nights, it was not possible to determine from the photographs what species of
egrets were roosting on the trees. Almost all of them perched with their backs facing the river. However, it was obvious that they were egrets from their colour, shape and characteristic kink in their necks.
Considering that birds are known to be able to use “unihemispheric slow-wave sleep” with one eye open for added alertness, one does wonder whether the continuous flashing of the synchronous fireflies would have any effect on them. Perhaps as they roost on the branches with their backs to the river (Figure 2), they are little affected by the fireflies that prefer to congregate on the foliage facing the river. Equally curious is the fact that the birds do not seem to affect the presence of the fireflies or their flashing behaviour. The index of the firefly population for this particular site remained somewhat similar even with the presence of the birds.
The sharing of the same trees at night by migratory egrets and fireflies could be coincidental, or it could be caused by loss of roosting and feeding sites of the birds as a result of land clearing for agricultural crops, especially oil palm. In fact, about one and a half years before the birds were first seen, the forest behind this particular site was cleared, leaving only a thin margin of riverside berembang and nipah. The loss of taller vegetation further inland may cause the birds to seek alternative feeding and roosting areas nearer the river edge. Like the fireflies, birds and other wildlife are not spared from the effects of overdevelopment.
Wightia borneensis, a magNeT For WhiTehead’S SPiderhUNTerWONGTSuSHI
Bird photographers and visiting birders to Sabah were all excited since the beginning of December when the most elusive of the three Whitehead’s birds, the Whitehead’s Spiderhunter Arachnothera juliae, could be guaranteed seen and photographed in good light from less than 15 meters away.
At the Rafflesia Forest Reserve, along Tambunan Penampang highway, a small tree Wightia borneensis, which was less than 10 metres tall, was in bloom with pink flowers in its crown, and the Whitehead’s Spiderhunter could be seen feeding on nectar among the flower clusters at regular intervals throughout the day. For each visit, it would stay and feed on an average of a few minutes, hopping merrily from twig to twig, prodding its long bill and extending its hair-like tongue into the longish bell-shaped flowers, oblivious both to the people watching and to the noisy heavy traffic passing below.
The maximum number of birds seen feeding at any one time was three, I was lucky to witness two feeding at the same time. Interestingly, Whitehead’s Spiderhunter seemed to be the only bird species feeding there, other sunbirds and flowerpeckers busy feeding on the opposite side of the highway were not interested in this flower at all. No other bird was seen feeding on this tree during the intervals when the spiderhunter was away.
Whitehead’s Spiderhunter is one of the most sought-after of the Whitehead’s trio in Borneo, as one could have tried for years before being rewarded with a view of it far away on the canopy of a flowering tree. You can imagine the amount of hoo-ha it generated among the interested people as it can be assured of feeding daily at that tree, with occasionally up to three birds at the same time.
The flowering tree is just across the highway from the gate of Rafflesia Information Centre and observers and photographers would set up opposite near the gate which is slightly over 12 meters across the highway from the tree, considering the two-laned highway of approximately 9 to 10 meters wide.
Mr Kong Ket Leong and the author drove from Tawau on 14th December (in the third week after first discovery of the feeding), as the pressure was mounting after being told that the flowers might
not last longer than another week, and no one actually knew its flowering cycle.
Wightia borneensis belongs to the plant family Scrophulariaceae and is an uncommon montane hemi-epiphyte, that is it grows like a small strangling fig. The seeds lodge in the top of a tree and it then puts down long roots to reach the ground and it eventually overwhelms the host tree, but it never grows as big as a strangling fig. The flowers appear to be the exactly the size and shape of a Whitehead’s spiderhunter’s bill, hence the possibility of an obligate relationship between the two (Quentin Phillipps, pers.comm).
Does the tree flower yearly? No one knows for sure as the author has not heard of this feeding frenzy last year nor the year before. Sabah has been quite active in the birding scene for at least the past six or seven years, so the author is of the opinion that anything of this nature in this relatively short history of bird watching/photography would have been hotly circulated as it does now. The tree just might flower irregularly and erratically, may be once in an unknown number of years or on certain unknown triggers. On the other hand, as the flowering tree is less than 10 meters tall and its girth not bigger than a power line pole, it might very well be flowering for the first time and hence the lack of any previous observation.
If the tree was indeed flowering for the first time and if it blooms annually, we can have a yearly Whitehead’s Spiderhunter Festival there for birders and photographers alike. There will be also be opportunities to collect more comprehensive data on the relationship between this tree and the spiderhunter. We will only know about that next year, and in the meantime we can do what good birders ought to do, that is wait.
EDITORS’NOTEAnexcellentsourceofgooddatawhichisvaluableinrealizinglongtermconservationgoals.WongTsuShisitsontheRecordsCommitteeoftheMNSBirdConservationCouncilandistheauthorofA Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan, publishedin2012byJohnBeaufoyBooks.
The Sundarbans of Bangladesh holds one of the last populations of the Endangered Masked Finfoot Heliopais personatus and
is considered as a safe stronghold of this highly threatened species. Conservationists are now concerned about the future of this bird in the Sundarbans, where a coal-based power plant has been given the green light to go ahead. The proposed 1,320 megawatt power plant is going to be built 14km away from the Sundarbans at Rampal.
“Our recent work on Masked Finfoot further confirms that the Sundarbans supports a very important population of this species and possibly the largest in the world. With the ongoing habitat destruction in other countries within its range, Sundarbans is likely to be the only site where we will find this secretive species in a few decades time, however, if we lose the Sundarbans due to this power plant then the future of this species is in peril”, said Sayam Chowdhury, Principal Investigator of the Sundarbans Finfoot Research Project.
The Sundarbans is not only important for Masked Finfoot, tigers and dolphins but also for many other species such as Mangrove Pitta, Brown-winged Kingfisher and White-rumped Vulture. The coal-fired power plant will undoubtedly have a devastating and irreparable impact on the Sundarbans, its wildlife, ecosystem
and forest dependent local community. The population of Masked Finfoot is less than 1000 individuals and Sundarbans is the only place where this species is now being studied to better understand its ecology.
Renowned Bangladeshi wildlife expert Dr Reza Khan said “there are many alternatives to generate power, but the world’s biggest mangrove forest—the Sundarbans has no alternative and we must protect the last refuge of the Bengal Tiger and many others”.
Dr Robert Sheldon, Head of International Species Recovery at the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) said “Masked Finfoot has been uplisted to Endangered owing to the sharp decline throughout its range due to the destruction and increasing disturbance to rivers in lowland riverine forests, hunting and collection of eggs and chicks. Since Bangladesh provides one of the last remaining habitats of the finfoot, the county has an international responsibility for the continued existence of the species.”
caNadiaN ScieNTiSTS PUbliSh hUmaN-relaTed bird morTaliTY eSTimaTeS
Scientists with Environment Canada, the federal government ministry responsible for protecting the environment and conserving
Canada’s natural heritage, have found that human-related activities destroy roughly 269 million birds and 2 million bird nests in Canada each year.
Most human-related bird deaths (about 99%) are caused by impacts of feral and pet cats, and collisions with buildings, vehicles, and electricity transmission and distribution lines. Over the last four years, a team of 20 Environment Canada scientists conducted extensive analyses that enabled them to release the first-ever estimates of annual direct bird mortality from human-related sources.
“Because birds are excellent indicators of biodiversity, the newly-released articles from Environment Canada highlight areas where broader biodiversity may be impacted”, said Dr George Finney, President of Bird Studies Canada. “These results provide a crucial first step toward understanding the relative importance of bird mortality factors, and will inform future research directions, conservation actions, and policy decisions.”
Collisions with electricity transmission and distribution lines have been identified as the second-largest human-caused source of bird mortality in Canada. Between 10–41 million birds per year are killed by collisions with transmission lines; between 160,000 and 800,000 birds are
electrocuted by distribution lines; and about 400,000 nests are destroyed annually due to vegetation clearing under powerlines.
Collisions with residential and commercial buildings are the third-highest of the human-related sectors, killing an estimated 16–42 million birds each year—mostly at houses. Following bird-friendly building guidelines can help individuals and building managers reduce the risk to birds.
Using commercial products, special glass, or homemade solutions to make windows more visible to birds can reduce daytime collisions. Night-time window collisions can be reduced by leaving lights off in low-rise and high-rise buildings. An estimated 13.8 million birds are killed annually by colliding with vehicles on Canada’s primary and secondary roads.
There are about 10 billion birds in Canada. The estimated total of 269 million bird deaths per year caused by human-related factors constitutes less than 5% of the overall population. Bird deaths from other causes (such as natural predation, disease, severe weather, or habitat loss) are not reflected in the estimates.
Kinabalu Park in Sabah is one of Malaysia’s and South-East Asia’s must-visit hotspots for birders. It has everything going for it: it is accessible, it has fantastic scenery, it is geographically unrivalled, it has a huge bird list including most of Borneo’s endemics, and if the birds are having a slow day there are plenty of other attractions to see amongst the plants and animals.
Birding Hotspots:
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‘summit’ road leading upslope to the Timpohon Gate, start of the hiking trail up to the summit. As the roads are bordered by forest, and the buildings are surrounded by planted shrubs and flowers, birdwatching can be easy. Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush Rhinocichla treacheri (a newly recognised endemic split from the Spectacled Laughingthrush Rhinocichlia mitrata of the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra) and Sunda Laughingthrush Garrulax palliatus (common to Borneo and Sumatra) both occur in small flocks in roadside vegetation, giving themselves away with a loud churring chorus, or crossing the road from tree to tree in procession. Bare-headed Laughingthrush Melanocichla calva, another endemic now split from the Black Laughingthrush Melanocichla lugubris of the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, is a harder find but sometimes spotted in smaller flocks or more often as a pair. Temminck’s Sunbirds Aethopyga temminckii come to
Most visitors travel to the park from Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabalu, by bus, a journey of less than two hours on fairly good surfaced roads to reach the park headquarters near Tenompok. This is the biggest and best known of the three main access points to the park. And birdwatching can begin immediately on arrival.
The swiftlets nesting at the wooden arch and offices at the entrance to the park are Glossy Collocalia esculenta, not the Bornean Swiftlets Collocalia dodgei endemic to Borneo: they have a slightly longer wing and blue (not green) gloss. Genetics work has shown conclusively they are Glossy but there are a very small proportion of Bornean Swiftlet genes in the population, so there may be a low level of occasional hybridisation.
From the headquarters, there is a one-way loop road, with accommodation in the form of chalets and dormitories at intervals along it, and a spur
(From top)
The Sunda Laughingthrush is also another noisy inhabitant of the park.
The Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush is usually seen in noisy flocks.
(Above)
The majestic Gunung Kinabalu, South-East Asia’s highest mountain, lies within the park.
(Page 14)
Bornean Treepie often attracts attention with its harsh chatters.
