[lwl_1106]

I took the picture in Sabah of Malaysia. Is it a Plain-throated sunbird ?

[Dave B]

Originally Posted by lwl_1106

I took the picture in Sabah of Malaysia. Is it a Plain-throated sunbird ?

Yes, I think so. Also known as Brown-throated.

Dave

[lwl_1106]

Originally Posted by Dave B

Yes, I think so. Also known as Brown-throated.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Some of my friends considered the bird as a Red-throated Sunbird because they saw no brown throat on the picture.So now I'm still confused about the two birds. Can you help me?

[Dave B]

Originally Posted by lwl_1106

Thanks Dave. Some of my friends considered the bird as a Red-throated Sunbird because they saw no brown throat on the picture.So now I'm still confused about the two birds. Can you help me?

Hmm

I just took another look at this pic, and brightened it up a bit. The result is that I'm not so sure it is Brown-throated. It may be Red-throatedafter all!

Red-throated has a much smaller patch of iridescent blue on the 'shoulder' (lesser coverts) than Brown-throated. Also the ear coverts are reddish rather than olive brown. Compare Brown-throated here with Red-throated here.

Your bird appears to have a reddish tinge to the ear coverts, and a restricted patch of blue on the shoulder. However, the red on the coverts doesn't look very extensive.

A big clue would be the habitat where it was taken. Brown-throated is a bird of parks, gardens and open areas. Red-throated is confined to rainforest.

Hope this helps. If you have any other pictures showing the coverts, that would be helpful.

Cheers

Dave

[lwl_1106]

Originally Posted by Dave B

A big clue would be the habitat where it was taken. Brown-throated is a bird of parks, gardens and open areas. Red-throated is confined to rainforest.

Hope this helps. If you have any other pictures showing the coverts, that would be helpful.

Thanks Dave. I took the picture(and it's the only pic. ) on Manukan Island(Pulau Manukan). The bird appeared in the trees on the seashore. So I think it's a bird of parks, gardens and open areas, and therefore it's a Brown-throated sunbird. Do you think so?

[James Eaton]

As Dave points out, the bird does show quite bright ear-coverts and restricted blue shoulder patch. However, once you see a Red-throated it really sticks out, the mantle is a bright green, coverts are noticeably bright red, revealing a beautiful bird.

One of those species pair that if your unsure of the id, then its a Brown-throated!

Habitat - Yes, typically Brown-throated.

[lwl_1106]

Thanks both of you. It's really helpful to me!