Birds from Siem Reap, Cambodia, Nov. 2019 (Part I) (1 Viewer)

Hi,

I took these in or around Siem Reap between the 24th and 29th of November, 2019.

My thoughts:
1. not sure, must be a very common bird
2. surely Black-crested Bulbul?
3. not sure
4. some kind of swift? Not sure which one, it seems to be devoid of markings. They are very common in the city.
5. not sure! It seems to be a raptor, but it seems to have an odd proportion (for me; I am not familiar with Southeast Asia birds).

What do you think?

Thanks in advance,
Howard

1. Yellow-vented Bulbul
2. Agree with Black-crested Bulbul
3. Oriental Honey Buzzard
4. Swiftlet sp. I'm not sure which species - they're very difficult to ID. There may be 'swift farms' in the area, which could be why they're common.
5. Another Oriental Honey Buzzard

Thanks, but I am a little confused:

Do you mean Crested Honey-buzzard (is that the same as Oriental?). The (English) names seem to be confusing.
What do you mean by "swift farms"?

Howard

howiewu said:

Thanks, but I am a little confused:

Do you mean Crested Honey-buzzard (is that the same as Oriental?). The (English) names seem to be confusing.

Click to expand...

Yes, same species; but subspecificaly the migratory subspecies P. p. orientalis (a potential future split from nominate non-migratory P. p. ptilorhynchus in Java)

howiewu said:

What do you mean by "swift farms"?

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Buildings designed as huge swift nestboxes, holding colonies of edible nest swiftlets; after breeding the nests are harvested for making birds-nest soup (a regional delicacy). Not sure there may not have been cases of deliberate introduction of favoured species to new areas for this purpose?

howiewu said:

Thanks, but I am a little confused:

Do you mean Crested Honey-buzzard (is that the same as Oriental?). The (English) names seem to be confusing.
What do you mean by "swift farms"?

Howard

Click to expand...

Now you know how we feel!

5, Wouldn't that be rather a Jerdon's Baza imm. ?
Jean

Jean FRANCOIS said:

5, Wouldn't that be rather a Jerdon's Baza imm. ?
Jean

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To be honest, I hadn't thought about Jerdon's Baza. The apparently long head and neck looked so typical of a Pernis that I didn't think elsewhere.
Having looked again, I still think that Oriental/Crested Honey-buzzard is a better fit, especially with comparison of the pattern on the primaries and the lack of a dark trailing edge to the wing.
Jerdon's Baza: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=855&Bird_Image_ID=112957&Bird_Family_ID=
Oriental Honey-buzzard: http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=896&Bird_Image_ID=151036&Bird_Family_ID=

Nutcracker said:

Buildings designed as huge swift nestboxes, holding colonies of edible nest swiftlets; after breeding the nests are harvested for making birds-nest soup (a regional delicacy). Not sure there may not have been cases of deliberate introduction of favoured species to new areas for this purpose?

Click to expand...

These buildings are now quite common in parts of southeast Asia, including the edges of villages. They are buildings with a large entry hole to create an artificial 'cave', where the birds breed. They often play recordings of swiftlets throughout the day to attract them to the building.
I think there's evidence that populations of different taxa from the 'edible-nest swiftlet' group have been introduced outside their native range as part of the farming. Native species have presumably also increased with the greater availability of nesting sites.
Swiftlets are notoriously difficult to identify - someone with more experience may be able to suggest a species for this photo but I suspect it will be difficult to confirm ID.

5. Oriental Honey-buzzard for me too - (2cy? with (cf to imm.JB) relatively unmarked underwing coverts and plainish axillaries (I think the throat patch bordered by the dark gorget is fairly typical IIR)