Malaysia & Thailand - seeking ID confirmation (1 Viewer)

thyoloalethe · Jun 18, 2017

Hi,

I've got a few photos (of poor quality) from my trip to Malaysia & Thailand last fall that I'm trying to get ID confirmation on.

This first, I assume, is an Asian Brown Flycatcher, taken on 9 October at Kuala Selangor Nature Park in Malaysia. But can anyone tell if it race williamsoni or dauurica?

Thanks
Liam

andyb39 · Jun 19, 2017

My guess would be daurica, based on the extent of the yellow on the underside of the bill:

https://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/pulau-mantanani-8-12-oct-2012-muscicapa-flycatchers/

Grahame Walbridge · Jun 19, 2017

Agree with Andy, dauurica Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Brown-streaked (wiliamsoni) tends to show more distinctive brown streaks on the underparts and a more extensively yellow-based bill. I would also suggest the pp is too long for that form.

Grahame

James Eaton · Jun 19, 2017

I'd agree with Andy and Grahame, on williamsoni just the tip of the lower mandible should be dark. Streaking also tends to reach the lower flanks.

James

thyoloalethe · Jun 21, 2017

Thanks guys.

Here's photo #2 - taken on Bumbun Blau Trail in Taman Negara NP on 12 November 2016. Obviously some kind of Bulbul. Don't know if it's enough to go by, although I have my own inkling of what this might be.

Grahame Walbridge · Jun 21, 2017

Looks like a Red-eyed though the image is not the best.

Grahame

James Eaton · Jun 21, 2017

Asian Red-eyed. Cream-vented on the Peninsular only has a pale iris, unlike Borneo where it can be red. Otherwise, no species to mistake it with really.

thyoloalethe · Jun 22, 2017

OK great, I was hoping it was Red-eyed, since I didn't see the species again with any certainty.

Next photo is no mystery--Great Argus.

I first encountered it early one morning roosting on a liana just inside the forest trail near HQ--seemed like too easy a tick. A couple of days later I ran into it roaming around HQ grounds, and it was largely unbothered by my presence. Does anyone know the story of this bird, i.e. is it known to be a former captive, or could it be a wild bird habituated to people? I never thought to ask the rangers at the time, and I haven't seen it mentioned in any trip reports. As you can see, the bird is banded.

James Eaton · Jun 22, 2017

It's a released bird unfortunately. The park authorities (Perhilitan) released several gamebirds a couple of years ago, uncluding a very tame Malaysian Peacock Pheasant that still knocks about from time-to-time there. They also released two Tapir, one which used to come and enter the actual restaurant in the evenings (and roost underneath in the day time), though I think that's disappeared now.

James

thyoloalethe · Jun 24, 2017

James Eaton said:
It's a released bird unfortunately. The park authorities (Perhilitan) released several gamebirds a couple of years ago, uncluding a very tame Malaysian Peacock Pheasant that still knocks about from time-to-time there. They also released two Tapir, one which used to come and enter the actual restaurant in the evenings (and roost underneath in the day time), though I think that's disappeared now.

James

In view of this, I have to ask (reluctantly!) about these Crested Firebacks that hang around the entrance to the trail to Lubuk Simpon. Were they part of that release? They aren't ringed (maybe because of the spurs, but the female isn't ringed either).

PS. I never did see any Tapirs.

Andy Adcock · Jun 24, 2017

James Eaton said:
IThey also released two Tapir, one which used to come and enter the actual restaurant in the evenings (and roost underneath in the day time), though I think that's disappeared now.

James

Do mammals roost?

I'm glad they don't do it in trees!..:eek!:

A

James Eaton · Jun 25, 2017

thyoloalethe said:
In view of this, I have to ask (reluctantly!) about these Crested Firebacks that hang around the entrance to the trail to Lubuk Simpon. Were they part of that release? They aren't ringed (maybe because of the spurs, but the female isn't ringed either).

PS. I never did see any Tapirs.

Fortunately the firebacks are wild - that group has been around long before the introductions - well over 15 years.

thyoloalethe · Jun 25, 2017

James Eaton said:
Fortunately the firebacks are wild - that group has been around long before the introductions - well over 15 years.

Phew!

OK, next set. Here's a flycatcher taken on Mt. Kinabalu on 29 October. It had been raining, so unfortunately I didn't have the flash on & the pics are quite blurry. Female Snowy-browed is what I came up with. Agree/disagree?

James Eaton · Jun 26, 2017

thyoloalethe said:
Phew!

OK, next set. Here's a flycatcher taken on Mt. Kinabalu on 29 October. It had been raining, so unfortunately I didn't have the flash on & the pics are quite blurry. Female Snowy-browed is what I came up with. Agree/disagree?

Agree. Face pattern, short tail.

thyoloalethe · Jun 26, 2017

While we're on Mt. Kinabalu, a question about white-bellied Swiftlets there (sorry no photos) - I saw one near the summit (yes I did the full climb); based on elevation, can I assume that this was Cave/Bornean Swiftlet (Collocalia (linchi) dodgei)?

I also saw a number of Collocalia flying into a structure at the park entrance; I would expect that these were Glossy Swiftlets (C. esculenta) given the elevation (c. 1600 m); they did appear to have a greenish gloss, but perhaps I shouldn't have trusted my senses since they disappeared into the structure quite quickly.

James Eaton · Jun 27, 2017

thyoloalethe said:
While we're on Mt. Kinabalu, a question about white-bellied Swiftlets there (sorry no photos) - I saw one near the summit (yes I did the full climb); based on elevation, can I assume that this was Cave/Bornean Swiftlet (Collocalia (linchi) dodgei)?

I also saw a number of Collocalia flying into a structure at the park entrance; I would expect that these were Glossy Swiftlets (C. esculenta) given the elevation (c. 1600 m); they did appear to have a greenish gloss, but perhaps I shouldn't have trusted my senses since they disappeared into the structure quite quickly.

Given the lack of identification features noted, neither sighting could have a name put against them. Plume-toed (Glossy) can go up high - how high, nobody truly knows. The vast majority of the Collocalia at the park entrance are Plume-toed, however, Bornean is also possible but a perched bird is what you ideally need unless you're very familiar with them in flight (white on the underparts and size).

James

thyoloalethe · Jun 27, 2017

James, I appreciate your expertise and for sticking with me thus far.

Just a few more photos to go...

Panti Forest Reserve, 5 November. I have settled on juvenile Scarlet-rumped Trogon, not Cinnamon-rumped. Agree/disagree?

andyb39 · Jun 27, 2017

There was a thread a while back on this difficult pair:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=335856&highlight=cinnamon-rumped+trogon

There's a link in one of the posts to a nice photo-page on Cinnamon-rumped, which I'm copying here. There are relatively few images available of this species.

http://diertjevandedag.classy.be/vogels/trogons/bruinrugtrogon.htm

I would say that, when enhanced, your bird shows a suggestion of the warm-coloured lores and ear coverts seen in the lower two birds on that photo-page.

thyoloalethe · Jun 28, 2017

Thanks for those links. The bright apricot underparts & rump on my bird could be consistent with either species I suppose; I also checked a few images on Oriental Bird Images, including some of Scarlet pumped (like this one), which seems to show this. I'm not convinced that the facial tones on the bird in my image are warm enough to match Cinnamon-rumped. I also thought the bill was too small, but perhaps this is variable in immature birds.

Incidentally, on the "bruinrugtrogon" page, I find that the bird in the lower left image has very little in the way of warm tones in the face, in contrast to the bird on the lower right.

andyb39 · Jun 28, 2017

Incidentally, on the "bruinrugtrogon" page, I find that the bird in the lower left image has very little in the way of warm tones in the face, in contrast to the bird on the lower right.

Yes, that bird is rather similar to yours. Both birds, although lacking the warm tones on the lores and ear-coverts of the right-hand bird, don't show the uniform head coloration of the linked Scarlet-rumped image.
The gape on your bird isn't as bright as on a typical Scarlet-rumped either. On the other hand, the rather blunt stubby bill looks better for Scarlet-rumped.

Malaysia & Thailand - seeking ID confirmation (1 Viewer)

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