Borneo Birds

Here’s a common resident of the mountains of Borneo and Sumatra.  The Black-capped White-eye Zosterops atricapilla frequents the mid to upper storey of the montane forests.  It moves around in pairs or small groups, feeding on invertebrates, fruits and nectar.  It is usually in constant motion, with a repeated twittering call to stay in touch with the others in the flock.

The Pink-necked Green Pigeon Treron vernans is the most common of the green pigeons in Borneo.  It is found in gardens, coastal and secondary forests throughout South-east Asia.  It moves around in small flocks, feeding on fruits and berries.  Its colourful plumage allows it to blend into the greenery.

The Buff-rumped Woodpecker Meiglyptes grammithorax is a common bird of the lowland forest.  Its behavior is typical of woodpeckers, moving constantly within the mid to upper canopy of the forest.  It prefers feeding from the smaller branches, mainly on ants and other insects.

It has taken me a long time to get reacquainted with the wonderful bird.  After the Pitta granatina was split in 1996 (Lambert), I have been trying to see this bird which retained the common name of Garnet Pitta.  Last year, during a visit to Kalimantan, my luck came up and spotted it in the lowland forest of the Sungai Wain Protected Forest near Balikpapan.  Its behavior reminded me of its now northern Bornean cousin Pitta ussheri.  Both are great looking  jewels of the forest floor.

I simply adore the swallow-like flight of this wader.  For the past weeks now, large numbers of this Oriental Pratincole Glareola maldivarum have been seen in the rice fields of Tempasuk, north of Kota Kinabalu.  They are supposed to be passage migrants but many of them are in breeding plumage.  Breeding has been recorded here but it will be a first for me.  I am not sure why they are waders as they always stay on dry areas.  Large numbers congregate mid-morning to perform their aerial maneuvers much like raptors do.  What a wonderful sight!