Pied Imperial Pigeon by Ck Leong

On a recent trip (with the Oundle School natural history trip to Borneo) to Lankayan Island off the north-east coast of Sabah, the Pied Imperial Pigeon Ducula bicolor was without doubt the standout of a rather short list of avian fauna there.  This island inhabitant displays a creamy white head and body with black flight feathers and uppertail.  It feeds on fruits and will migrate to other islands or coastal mainland in their search for food.  I also saw a small flock of them on the beach picking on small pieces of broken coral.

Thanks to Lyn Hunt.

While the debate goes on whether Copsychus stricklandi should be lumped together with White-rumped Shama, visiting birders to Borneo should note  that you can only see the “White-crowned”  in the north, or otherwise known as the political entity of Sabah.  For those who persist on seeing the White-rumped, you might find success in the pet shops around Kota Kinabalu, this because of lax enforcement of this protected species (a fine songster) and continued trapping in the south (Borneo).  To untrained ears like mine, the songs of both species sound very similar but I have met pet shop keepers who insist that White-rumped Shamas from the wild have a wider “variety” in calls.

Sorry I guess I have just added a little more fuel to the debate.

Here’s a common bird found in all kinds of habitat up to submontane forest.  The Little Green Pigeon Treron olax moves around in small flocks, feeding on berries and figs.  Sometimes one gets lucky when the bird comes down to feed on a low branch, affording great views as I did with this bird.  I have to admit that I have difficulty distinguishing the calls of the different Treron pigeons but no matter, they all look good.

If you are visiting Mt Kinabalu between February and April, you would most likely hear the 3 note call of the Sunda Cuckoo Cuculus lepidus.  Reduced vocalisation during the other months of the year makes it more challenging  to look for then, even though it is a common resident here.  It used to be lumped together with Oriental Cuckoo but is now a species on its own, based on differences in size, call and plumage.

The big question is this – is it a resident bird?  From time to time, over quite a number of years now, local colleagues and visiting birders alike have reported seeing this bird, the Long-tailed Shrike, along the road between Kundasang and Mesilau on the eastern slopes of Mt Kinabalu.  Yours truly, contented and having seen this species, Lanius schach schach in Vietnam and L. s. tricolor in India never made an effort to check this bird in his backyard.  Yesterday, armed with info from a friend who said he had been seeing it regularly and because it was raining higher up the mountain, I finally decided it was time to meet this beast.

Saw it, got pictures of it, and was left suitably perplexed by it.  The black cap of this shrike was all black and reminded me of the tricolor but didn’t quite fit the description.  It was much later that I was able to look at a field guide and there it was, L. s. nasutus. The only problem was that it was supposed to be a Philippine endemic sub-species.

Most of the natural vegetation around Kundasang have been thrashed by vegetable farming.  Having lose the native forest, a lot of the land is now grassland.  Environmental concerns aside, this new “open farm and grass”  habitat is almost asking for visiting grassland dwelling species to stay.   Perhaps there is going to be a problem for the local residents ( Yellow-bellied Prinia first to mind), as this Long-tailed Shrike is quite an aggressive bird.

Grassland found in the Kundasang-Mesilau area

This L. s. nasutus will definitely delight you with continuous chirping song.  Will it stay?

Thanks to Andy.