Borneo Birds

I remember that in years gone by, most of the nature lodges in Sabah had their resident blue flycatcher.  The Borneo Rainforest Lodge had a Bornean Blue Flycatcher coming near the restaurant and so did the Tabin Wildlife Resort with their Malaysian Blue.  Those were the days.  Recently I was at another lodge in Sukau along the Kinabatangan River and this male Malaysia Blue Flycatcher came to say hello.  It’s all good.

Here’s a case for bird photography.  The Pygmy Ibon (Pygmy White-eye) Oculocincta squamifrons is locally common in hill forests populated with recolonizers of the Macaranga species of trees.  It has a tendency of being overlooked as it is more warbler-like and it is difficult to see the thin white eye-ring.  With the luxury of photographic examination, the forehead appears more like thin wavy dashes in white than speckles as described in most publications.

A Bornean endemic.

The Bornean Treepie Dendrocitta cinerascens is generally considered to be a montane bird but will on occasion be found as low as 600m.  Usually in pairs or in a mixed party, it is loud and conspicous, with calls in flight and while perched.  Its tail makes up more than half of the bird and is prominent in flight.  You can’t miss it.

It has been ages since I last posted anything on pigeons and doves.  So here is an Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica in an uncommon state of being perched on a bare branch.  Usually it is walking on the ground while searching for food or it is flying fast and low, away from you.  Over the last years, I have been having much more sightings of this bird and in a variety of habitat, from 1,800m on Mt Kinabalu down to the islands off Kota Kinabalu.  Signs of an healthy population?

This individual Storm’s Stork Ciconia stormi is one of about 500 in the world population of this endangered species.  This number is spread out over southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.  The last stronghold for Sabah is the floodplains of the lower Kinabatangan river and the surrounding lowland forest including the Tabin Wildlife Reserve where this photo was taken.  Continued reduction of such habitat has contributed to the decreasing trend in its population.  The bird is generally solitary but likes to form small groups to soar in the late morning thermals.