In June 2007, Singapore photographers were travelling regularly to Johor, Malaysia to photograph a pair of rare resident kingfishers nesting in the Panti forest. These birds are identified as Rufous-backed Kingfisher (Ceyx rufidorsa) (below). However, comparing the images with that in Robson (2005), the birds from Panti show more black on the wings but not as much as in the Black-backed Kingfisher (Ceyx erithacus). This is also the case in Morten’s (2000) photographic guide.

When shown a couple of the recent images from Johor, Morten commented: “…very dark wings, is that really a Johor bird? darkest resident bird I have ever seen… my pictures from that area have very orange wings…”

The above two guide books treat Rufous-backed and Black-backed as two distinct species. However, Lekagul & Round (1991) in their Birds of Thailand, consider them as a single species.

Now are the birds seen in Panti, Rufour-backed or Black-backed Kingfisher? In other words, are there two distinct species or are the two, variations of a single species? Ornithologists are beginning to agree that there is only one species, with a range of intermediate forms as a result of hybridisation of two subspecies, the black-back and the red-back forms.

Ripley & Beehler (1987) consider that there are two distinct species; while Sims (1959) as only one species.

The more recent publications have all accepted that there are only one species, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (Cyex erithacus), with subspecies - erithacus (black-back) and rufidorsa (red-back) (Wells, 1999; Wang & Hails, 2007).

In the treatment of kingfishers for the series Birds of the World, Woodall (2001) similarly treats these two groups as a single species. His justification is that there is widespread hybridisation in the populations in Borneo, Sumatra and south of Peninsular Malaysia, resulting in a wide range of intermediate forms. He believes that the original decision to distinguish two species originated from the population in north of Kuala Lumpur where there is little hybridiation, as the black-backed is migratory.

The evidence is clear that the black-backed and red-backed are just different forms of the same species, Ceyx erithacus or the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. In Borneo some 80% of specimens show intermediate characteristics to some degree or another (Sims, 1959). And the Panti birds similarly show intermediate characters.

Birders should call these birds Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

Images Philip Tang.

Foo Sai Khoon has since sent in the image on the right and commented: “There were at least two pairs of Oriental Dwarf Kingfishers nesting in Panti this year. The feathers of kingfisher are rather special in that they can look slightly different under varying light conditions, due to the way they reflect light. I have enclosed an image of the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher taken at Panti recently for your discussion.

“From my experience, flash tends to bring out the colour of kingfishers making them look more vibrant and perhaps less dark?

“Cheers, Sai Khoon.”
23rd June 2007

References:
Lekagul, B. & Round, P.D. (1991). A guide to the Birds of Thailand. Thailand: Saha Karn Bhaet Co. Ltd.
Morten, S. (2000). A photographic guide to the birds of Malaysia and Singapore. Hongkong: Periplus Ed.
Ripley, S.D. & Beehler, B.M. (1987). Species status of the Malaysian three-toed kingfishers (Ceyx) – a reassessment. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club. 107:145-51.
Robson, C. (2005). Birds of South-east Asia. London: New Holland.
Sims, R.W. (1959). The Ceyx erithacus and C. rufidorsus problem. J. Linn. Soc. (Zoology) xliv, 296:212-21.
Wang. L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007) An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.
Wells, D.R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London.
Woodall, P.F. (2001). Family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers). Pp. 130-249 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (2001). Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.

Wendy and William T Cooper were in town around mid-June 2007, arriving from Cairns, Queensland where they live. They were en route to Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra. They will be working as a team, she will be seeking out certain plants and he will be sketching and painting them.

Wendy is well known for her lavishly illustrated book, Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest, published in 2004 (Melbourne: Nokomis Editions). Her husband Bill is the artist responsible for the superb illustrations of the fruits.

Bill is well known in his own right - being an award-winning natural-history artist and illustrator. He illustrated many of the books that Joseph M Forshaw, the internationally renowned parrot expert, wrote over the years. These include Turacos: A Natural History of the Musophagidae; Parrots of the World; Australian Parrots; and Kingfishers & Related Birds Vol. 1: Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) - Ceryle to Cittura.

Bill has also illustrated other bird books like The Birds of Paradise: Paradisaeidae by Clifford B. Frith and Bruce McP Beehler and A Portfolio of Australian Birds by Keith Hindwood.

The subject of social-feeding of wild birds remains controversial. While it is not an immediate death sentence to birds ingesting processed or contaminated and often unwanted food, it is good fodder to lend your ears to the voice of pro-bird activists and conservationists in the advocacy of discouraging such a practice.

This discussion was had in Perth sometime ago during my visit at fall. Tourists were seen joyfully feeding swans and ducks with breadcrumbs, crisps and crackers in the ever bountiful landscaped ponds and rivers of Perth city.

Theoretically, environmentalists will attest to the fact that as human fingers are not sterile, whatever is handled and fed to birds, especially stale bread mushrooming with fungi, cross-contamination may cause the bird to become infected, sick and eventually death. Yet, the sight of some bird species scavenging in rubbish dumps and bins continues, and seemingly thrive well without any ill consequences (left).

They seem to have the ability to build up body resistance against certain bacteria or develop immunity to these bugs. Species like the House Crow (Corvus splendens) (left top), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) and Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) (left bottom) in Malaysia are star examples of such tough, wild birds living off humans’ cast offs in residential quarters.

Conservationists will say, that feeding the wild may cause birds to become too dependant on humans’ handouts and complacent to hunt in their own habitat. But I have seen too when feeding stopped, the birds stopped coming.

Most public Squares and Plazas abroad boast of huge flocks of birds, mainly Rock Pigeons (Columba livia). Symbolically, they add character to some well known tourists’ destinations like Trafalgar Square, St Mark’s Square, Red Square and Plaza Mayor in Madrid.

Tiananmen Square in Beijing was an exception. It looked barren and sterile the last time I visited in 1998. If a page of China’s history is turned to Mao’s era, one could read about a decree being carried out to exterminate all wild birds for devouring food grains in provincial villages.

Villagers were summoned to carry out a continuous bashing of kitchen utensils, clanking up high decibels, sending birds into frenzy and finally collapsing from sheer exhaustion. Dead birds were removed by the lorry loads. A most primitive and cruel execution, I thought.

Well, the story went on …being bird free; a plague of happy, lucky locusts came and finished the rest of the grains and brought on famine and untold human suffering in China.

Birds in tourists’ cities are luckier. They live off tourists who purchase bird seeds from vendors. Their presence contained within specific areas, symbolizes the maturity and establishment of tourism in that country. It is a win, win situation and everyone goes home happy (right).

Despite signboards being placed in designated public areas, giving instructions to abstain from feeding the wild, yet most tourists ignore them.

‘Why?’

‘To give’ is a physical action deriving from the emotional and thought aspect of human beings. Some give freely, others more reserved in whom they choose to give.

A conducive environment that stimulates oneness with nature I believe, plays an important catalytic role to evoke that inner feeling of the art of giving graciously and spontaneously, without expecting anything in return.

I have to confess that I do feed birds when I am a tourist, visiting places abroad, where there are duck ponds or riverside picnic areas. A place where one can find peace, solace and feel the pulse of life in a foreign land. A place, where the breeze is crisp, cool and user friendly to tired souls who are in no hurry go anywhere. While I do observe notice boards abroad, I cannot remember a moment that I’ve ever fed a wild bird under tropical heat like my own country, Malaysia nor have a desire to do so. Isn’t that strange?

I remembered only too well in my Danish escapes at Copenhagen with my spouse. We came out from a Danish delicatessen shop with a packet of delicious, mouth melting, freshly baked Danish cookies. We found a delightful picnic spot to enjoy with our flask of hot coffee. It wasn’t long before ducks sailed to greet us happily beside the river (left).

We found so much joy, just to see them free and be captivated by their gorgeous plumage. Their innocent eyes sparkled like crystal clear water from where they bobbled. Their presence was like filling in the last piece of nature’s jig-saw to complete a picture of impressionistic art works of Monet’s Lilly Ponds. The act of offering wild birds a gift of tit-bit came spontaneous and amalgamated a therapeutic feeling of goodness into each soul contributing to that grand picture.

We ended up eating only a piece each of the cookie. The rest and of best quality were enjoyed by the ducks as much as the joy they gave us to share and showed us to give with a generous heart.

This feeling is no different from house owners who live alone in retirement villages, hanging out seed bags and bird feeders in their gardens. The joy of seeing and affectionately providing these chirpy birds, paint rainbows into their somewhat mundane and perhaps, lonely existence.

It is interesting to note that birds from developed nations have the ability to feed freely from bird feeders and seed bags while that of developing countries don’t seemed to know how to tackle them.

Well, I guess while humans evolved at different stages, birds do pick after their habits and require training and time to follow suit.

Bird ecotourism - misconstrued to mean, ‘taking tourists to see wild birds in the jungle’ - seems to be in vogue in my part of the country. Many pages can be written on this subject alone, the misconception it brings with it and the way it is being practiced. Promoting sustainable impact tours, with emphasis on care and conservation of bird environment I believe, would be more appropriate.

The inventor of the word, ‘ecotourism’ is probably in a sorry state of despair now to see his invention, meant originally to be of good intentions, got so twisted by a society that has gone greedy. I can only add, the invented name came too early to our shores. The psyche of our society is not quite ready to efficiently handle profitability with responsibility, within the environmental context.

Let me take you to a hill station in Malaysia and bear witness the impact of social-feeding of wild birds and how bird tourism that is ill understood and handled kicks back.

Subject No: 1

Morgan the pirate - Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis) appears at the predictable time of morning from his usual roost - at the far end of a forest edge. He does his rounds, looking for insects, hopping from branch to branch, landing on bougainvillea pots and picking up fresh breadcrumbs scattered generously and purposely by employees of a resort. Morgan settled onto his favourite perch for an early entrée breakfast (above left).

The mascot bird then took to the balcony to survey some biggies, cicadas that had knocked the daylights out of themselves - having executed a kamikaze act onto the glass doors the night before. In his final approach, he craftily took cover under the driveway of the car park to await breakfast leftovers from in-house guests.

When all clear, the avian pirate swooped into the patio breakfast area, perched on the chair for a ‘quick, look and pick’ as shown by the blurry images (above middle and right). One bird may be cute and well tolerated by the management and guests. What happens when birds come by the dozens?

Subject No:2
The Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasia picaoides) is just about the most numerous amongst the various species seen. While they looked contrastingly charming amongst bottlebrush bushes and mopped up most of the breadcrumbs, their gregarious nature when left unchecked was something else (left).

The minute my breakfast was brought in, a flock of them flew in and perched under the patio canopy. Some were bold enough to close in less than ten feet away and perched on table, others on the back of soiled chairs, to watch me eat my breakfast. I had to eat keeping one eye on them.

Let’s zoom in and be introduced to my breakfast avian pals:

“Mmm… shall I be a bit civilised and choose a plate?” asks Percival Sibia (above: bottom left).

“Oi! Percy, why bother when you can have breakfast off the ladle!” retorted Samseng Sibia (above: top left).

“For what we are about to receive, we give thee thanks oh Lord. Amen!” echoed triple Sibias- Sarah, Sylvia and Sharon (above: top centre).

“Hurry up! My turn next and don’t gobble that entire halal yoke!” screeched Abdullah, the Long-tailed Sibia (above: top right).

In flew BigEyes the Chestnut-capped Laughing Thrush (Garrulax mitratus) and perched on my camera bag. He screamed out, “You guys better clear out quick. I got this 82mm barrel pointing at me (above: bottom right)!”

“Artery blocker or not, eat first. Choose my cardiologist LATER…” says Duke, the black avian Jekyll (above: bottom centre).

Well… any birding pals care to join me for breakfast with the Avian Jekylls and Hydes in the near future?

SUBMITTED BY DAISY O’NEILL (Avian Writer), PENANG, MALAYSIA.

All images by Daisy O’Neill.

PS: In Southeast Asia there is no tradition of setting up garden bird feeders as is common in the west. The practice of feeding feral pigeons is actively discouraged in Singapore. At the Singapore Botanic Gardens visitors are feeding fishes in the lakes, and seeing that mynas, sparrows and doves are attracted to the bread thrown into the water, are beginning to also feed these birds. Whether this practice is good or bad for the long term has yet to be debated. The above article provides food for thought.

At 8.15 am on 9th May 2007 I noticed a pair of Javan Mynas perching quietly in my starfruit tree (Averrhoa carambola) just outside my bathroom window. They appeared to be preening. Each bird was actively pecking its body and wings and making “jumping” movements although securely perched on the branch. After a few minutes in one perch the birds moved to a nearby branch and repeated the action all over again.

On closer look I suddenly realised that they were not preening. The action was too rapid. The birds were actually anting.

They picked up the ants near their feet and immediately placed them on their breast and wings, making short jumps and flapping the wings at the same time. They were also fluffing their body feathers.

All these were done quietly, without a sound being made. Because of the glass between the birds and myself, they felt comfortable to continue anting. With the aid of my binoculars, I was able to have a closer look. One bird was perching where ants were crawling over its feet. It pecked a few and probably swallowed some and placed others on its plumage.

This went on for about 15 minutes before the birds flew away.

Since the first posting on anting on 16th October 2005, there have been a number of others, also on Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus), an albino Javan Myna, a Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) and lately mass anting by again, Javan Mynas at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Birders need to keep watch on other species of birds that have so far not been reported anting.

NOTE: Accounts of anting posted between October 2005 and August 2008 have now been written up and published in the 2008 issue of the on-line journal, Nature in Singapore (Vol. 1, pp. 23-25). A PDF file of Anting in Singapore birds is available HERE.

KC and I had long heard about the rich wildlife in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, especially along the Kinabatangan River and Danum Valley, and more recently, the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, so we knew a visit was due as soon as we could make it. As the flights into Sabah made the trip more costly than travel to West Malaysia that we can easily assess with our own vehicle, we thought we should see all the three places in one go. We later found out that many foreign tourists had the same idea, spending about 10-14 days in Sabah, covering the above mentioned areas, plus Mount Kinabalu and Sipidan Island for its perfect diving sites. As expected, there were complaints about the unreliable domestic flights within Sabah, especially those operated by private airlines such as Fax. We learnt that the Fax airlines are to cease operation soon and MAS will take over those routes once again e.g. Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu. Hopefully, this will mean more reliable internal air connections within Sabah, enabling easier planning for those whose time and money is limited.

The trip was enriching as we managed to view a fair cross-section of wildlife residing in these areas in the very short space of time that we had. We are certain there would have been a lot more to enjoy if we had the time and money to stay there for a few months! We missed the ‘Borneo Bristlehead’ bird which we learnt is most frequently sighted during the months of July and August. However, we were compensated by the viewing of the Great Argus (Argusianus argus) or Argus Pheasant in the wild. We were informed that their mating season was in April so we missed the dance ritual of these fabulous birds, though the guide showed us two of its dance sites.

Of the three areas visited, it is difficult to say which is the best from a birdwatchers’ perspective as all three are rich in birdlife. Much depends on your patience and luck in being able to draw out the ‘secrets’ of the birds in the forests. However, if asked to choose, I would opt to return to Danum Valley as it has the most forests and walking trails, and we only covered a fraction of it. For those who want an easy birdwatching time, I will recommend Sukau, and staying at the Sukau River Lodge, as wonderful birds like the Black and Red Broadbill and Scarlet-Rumped Trogon can be sighted even within the vicinity of the lodge. At the back of the lodge, there is a boardwalk enabling easy night walks even on your own, plus a few trails for day exploration. Tabin’s birdlife is also very good, and if you prefer lodgings with air-conditioning (at Sukau River Lodge and Borneo Rainforest Lodge – the eco-friendly lodges, you have fans only), then Tabin can be your choice.

One last interesting observation to share. In the time that we were there, ie May, we found that it was bright around 5 am and by 6 am it was as bright as 7.30 am in Singapore. We thought that the birds will be very active as early as 6 am, but this did not seem to be the case. The birds seem to become active only from about 7.30 am onwards. We are not certain if what we observed is typical for that time of the year, although the Manager at the Tabin Wildlife Resort said that some Singaporeans had made the same observation when they visited Tabin. The birders in the group charged out as soon as there was light, but no birds or their lively chatter greeted them. Perhaps, this is the life even for the birds… to take it more easy!

List of Birds, Animals and Other creatures/insects sighted by location included the following:

SEPILOK JUNGLE RESORT (stayed 1 night )
The resort has mixed greenery surrounding it. Most of it is cultivated garden, plus some orchards and secondary forest further behind the resort. We only had time for one evening of birdwatching.

1 Blue-Eared Kingfisher (1); 2 White-Collared Kingfisher (1-2); 3 Black-Necked (Dark-Necked) Tailorbird (1-2); 4 Red-Tailed Tailorbird (1-2); 5 Red-Headed (Ashy) Tailorbird (2-3); 6 Magpie Robin (several) – appear to be larger than those seen in S’pore & W Malaysia, also different song – longer and more melodious call; 7 Little Green Pigeon (a good number); 8 Dusky Munia (several); 9 Chestnut Munia (several) also easily seen on the roadside in Sandakan town; 10 Spotted Munia (a few); 11 White-breasted Waterhen, breeding with young – (several); 12 Spotted Dove (several); 13 Barred Ground Dove (a few); 14 Pacific Swallow (several); 15 Olive-backed Sunbird (male & female) (several); 16 Broad-Billed Roller (Dollarbird) (2-3); 17 Oriental Great Reed Warbler (heard only); 18 Yellow-Vented Bulbul (several); 19 Tree Sparrow (a few); 20 House Crows (1-2); 21 Pied Hornbills (2); 22 Black-Naped Oriole (2-3); 23 Crested Myna (several).

SEPILOK REHABILITATION CENTRE
We had a 2-hour long visit with the prime aim of seeing the Orang Utans. Birdwatching was incidental only.

1 Orang-Utans – 5-6 ( adults and juveniles); 2 Black-Naped Monarch Flycatcher (male & female) on boardwalk to Orang Utan display area; 3 Crested Serpent Eagle (1); 4 Common Iora (1-2); 5 Large Egret and Purple Heron (in flight).

TRAVELLING BY SPEED BOAT FROM SANDAKAN TO SUKAU SITED ON KINABATANGAN RIVER BANK (2.25 hrs journey, from 1.30pm to 3.45pm)
Some birds were sighted from the boat as we crossed the bay area outside Sandakan town towards the mouth of Kinabatangan river, and upriver towards Sukau village/vicinity. We passed healthy belts of mangrove forests. The river mouth area was pretty wide so the sighting of birds was not too easy.

1 Green Imperial Pigeon (2); 2 Brahminy Kites (many – all were actively fishing); 3 Large Egret ( many feeding on the mudflats); 4 Crested Serpent Eagles (3); 5 Broad-Billed Roller (Dollarbird) – several perching on trees.

SUKAU - RIVER CRUISES AND BIRDING AROUND SUKAU RIVER LODGE
(Stayed 2 nights at the lodge ) 14 and 15 May 2007

It rained a fair bit on the evening of our arrival, so the Sukau evening cruise was cut short. The night cruise was also called off because of the high water and danger posed by drifting logs on the fast flowing waters. However, we had good weather days thereafter. Though there was the usual afternoon downpour, it cleared up very nicely after the rain, and the sunset was beautiful in its many coloured hues.

1 Families of Proboscis Monkeys (Endemic): Many were sighted close to Sukau. It was observed that some groups comprised of the Alpha / Dominant Male Proboscis with a few females and juveniles, while other groups comprised of either purely females with juveniles, or all bachelors. The monkeys appeared to be quite healthy. They were not unduly afraid of people, and sat looking back at us in our boats. The Alpha Male Proboscis monkey is out-of-this world. He sat on the tree looking very much like a grand old man with his obvious paunch and erected ‘red chili’ below; 2 Observed one male Orang Utan in the vegetation close behind Sukau River Lodge. The orang utan moved very quietly amongst the trees; 3 Both Silver Leaf Monkeys (Langgurs) and the Long-tailed Macaques were seen in good numbers too along the Kinabatangan river. One unusual sighting was that of a lone Albino Silver Leaf Monkey perched sadly on a tree. According to our guide, an Albino monkey may at times be rejected by its own tribe, becomes an outcast and needs to survive on its own. The one we saw may have suffered this fate; 4 Clouded Monitor Lizard (1) on tree; 5 Black Squirrel – completely black with fairly long tail. (Seen at lodge area. Could not identify from book. Still trying to check); 6 Mangrove Snake or Yellow-Ringed Cat snake (1) curled up on tree’ 7 Striped Bronze Back Snake ( 1 on jungle trail near Ox-Bow river area) 8 Tractor Millipede (many on the floor of the jungle forest trail at Oxbow river area) (below right); 9 Pill Millipede (2) (below left);

10 Mottled black and grey small frog ( found in room toilet, only about 2-3 inches long, still to be identified ); 11 Black-Naped Monarch Flycatcher – 1 male; 12 Greater Coucal (2) – drying its wings; 13 Maroon Woodpecker (3-4); 14 Scarlet Minivets (male n female); 15 Broad-Billed Roller (Dollarbirds) (3-4); 16 Large Egrets ( many on the shore but not in flocks); 17 Rufous Piculet (1 at lodge area); 18 Common Ioras (several/lodge area); 19 Oriental White Eye (1at lodge area); 20 Scarlet-Rumped Trogon (1) – female asleep on branch/lodge area; 21 Striped Tit Babbler (a few at lodge area); 22 Yellow Breasted Warbler (1-2 around the riverbank reeds); 23 Green Imperial Pigeon (several); 24 Dusky Munias (several, nesting in the Sealing Wax palms within Lodge garden); 25 Black and Red Broadbill (family – a pair of adults and 1 juvenile sighted at Lodge area.); 26 Black-Naped Monarch Flycatcher (in nest at Lodge); 27 Malaysian Blue Flycatcher (family of 3 sleeping on branch, seen on boardwalk behind Sukau River Lodge); 28 Chestnut-Winged Babbler (at lodge area); 29 Yellow-Vented Bulbul (several); 30 Jungle Crow (a few); 31 Olive-backed Sunbird (lodge area); 32 Oriental Darter (several, perched on a high tree with Egrets); 33 Little Spider Hunter (1 at lodge area); 34 Pied Hornbill (several); 35 Rhinocerous Hornbill (2-3); 36 Black Hornbill (2); 37 Storm Stock (1); 38 Jerdon’s Baza (1); 39 Magpie Robin (1); 40 Crested Myna (several); 41 White Chested Babbler (several in flock); 42 Abbot’s Babbler (several); 43 Short-Tailed Babbler (several); 44 Garnet Pitta (heard).

We travelled on from Sukau village to Danum Valley via Lahad Datu, stopping on the way at the Gua Gomantong Caves. The road was gravely only for the first part of the journey. The road which turned off to the Gomantong Caves cut through a mix of primary and secondary forests, and this turned out to be a good birding area. Sightings of animals, birds and insects included the following:

1 Red Leaf Monkeys; 2 Lantern Bug; 3 Lyssa Mentoetius Moth (several seen in the toilet); 4 Bat Hawk; 5 Black and Yellow Broadbill; 6 Crested Serpent Eagles (many); 7 Rufous Woodpecker (several); 8 Storm Stocks (several, circling in the sky); 9 Black Throated Oriole (male); 10 Black-Naped Monarch Flycatcher (male and female nesting); 11 Large Owl ( brief glimpse as it flew too quickly for identification); 12 Brown-Rumped (Edible-Nest) Swiftlet (many in the Gomantong cave – makes the valuable ‘white’ nests which are collected for consumption); 13 Black-Nest Swiftlet.

At Danum Valley, we stayed at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge (16-18 May) which was a good area surrounded by primary forests with many walking trails. What stood out in the treescape are the many majestically tall and white-trunked Menggaris trees. They were beautiful to behold and their crowns provided a safe roosting spot for birds like the hornbills. We spotted the following animals and birds, some on the night safari.*

1 Orang Utan (juvenile on road to Danum); 2 Flying Lemur* (One seen licking the sap of a large tree); 3 Mouse Deer* (2) different nights; 4 Barking Deer* (1); 5 Leopard Cat* (1); 6 Pygmy Elephants (2) (heard us and the family ran into the forests so we saw only 2)* E; 7 Civic Palm Cat* (1); 8 Red Leaf Monkey (several); 9 Bearded Pig (1) More or less residing in the lodge compound; 10 Large frilled back lizard* (still to be identified); 11 Dusky Mock Viper snake (?)* (identity still to be confirmed – one on shrub); 12 Buffy Fish Owl (2)*; 13 Brown Wood Owl *(1 – it swooshed down to the ground hunting); 14 Chestnut Wing Babbler; 15 Spotted Fantail (2); 16 Pied Fantail Flycatcher (a few regulars); 17 Argus Pheasant (1 male only); 18 Crested Fireback Pheasant (2 males); 19 White-Crowned Sharma (1) E; 20 White-Rumped Sharma; 21Rufous-Tailed Sharma (heard only); 22 Malaysian Blue Flycatcher (male and female); 23 Oriental Darter (1 sunning itself on a tree by the Lodge river side); 24 White Collared Kingfisher; 25 Stork-Billed Kingfisher; 25 Pacific Swallows (nesting below the Rainforest Lodge); 26 Striped-Tit Babbler (many); 27 Yellow-Vented Bulbul (several); 28 Olive-Winged Bulbul (a few); 29 Red-Headed (Ashy) Tailorbird; 30 Broad-Billed Roller (Dollarbird) (1-2); 31 Olive-Backed Sunbird (1-2); 32 Crested Serpent Eagle (1); 33 Glossy Tree Starlings (several); 34 Long-Tailed Parakeet (a few in flight); 35 Jungle Crow (a few); 36 Crested Myna (a few); 37 Pied Hornbill (2); 38 Rhinocerous Hornbill (1); 39 Black-Capped Babbler (several); 40 White-Chested Babbler (several); 41 Whiskered Tree Swift (2-3); 42 Magpie Robin (1-2); 43 Tractor Millipede (several); 44 Pill Millipede (1).

From Danum, we made our way back by road to Lahad Datu, afterwhich we travelled for another 1.5 hrs to the TABIN WILDLIFE RESERVE, staying at the lodges available at Tabin Wildlife Resort. The track to the Lipad volcanic mud flow was memorable as I obtained some mud to make my beauty face mask whilst KC managed to photograph the Garnet Pitta after listening to its distinctive whistle for some time. The animals and birds seen there during our 3 days’ stay (18-20 May) included the following:

1 Pig-Tailed Macaque ( a whole family –very strong and healthy. Quite fierce – the alpha male made a face at our Manager who said they recognised him!); 2 Leopard Cat (2)*; 3 Common Palm Civet (2)*; 4 Porcupines ( 2 with long white bristles crossing the road )*; 5 Black Giant Squirrel (2)*; 6 Red Giant Squirrel (2)*; 7 Clouded Monitor Lizard (1)*; 8 Wild boars with young ( crossing the road )*; 9 Buffy Fish Owl (1)*; 10 Malaysian Blue Flycatcher (male and female); 11 Garnet Pitta; 12 Striped Tit Babbler; 13 Chest-Winged Babbler; 14 Yellow-Breasted Flowerpecker; 15 Crested Serpent Eagles (several); 16 Green Iora (several – male and female); 17 Blue-Throated Bee Eater (adults and 1 juvenile which looked very greenish); 18 Jerdon’s Baza; 19 Broad-Billed Roller or Dollarbird; 20 Crimson Sunbird; 21 Olive-Backed Sunbird; 22 Black-Throated Oriole (1 female); 23 Black Hornbill (1 – large and very noisy, near the river lodges); 24 Purple-Naped Sunbird; 25 Pied Hornbill (2); 26 Rhinocerous Hornbill (2 – male and female); Rhinocerous Hornbill (4 seen asleep on the tall white-trunk Menggaris tree )*; 27 Velvet Fronted Nuthatch; 28 Yellow-Vented Bulbul; 29 Olive-Winged Bulbul; 30 Buff-Vented Bulbul; 31 Spectacled Bulbul (several); 32 Lesser Leaf Bird (2 – male and female); 33 Oriental Darter (1 – flying through); 34 Red-Headed (Ashy) Tailorbird (several); 35 White-Rumped Sharma (heard only); 36 Jungle Crows (a few); 37 Crested Myna (a few); 38 Asian Paradise Flycatcher – White Morph (1 – male); 39 Black-Naped Oriole (1-2); 40 Magpie Robin (a few); 41 Pacific Swallows (a few); 42 Scorpion (very large, about 8 inches long; bluish-black in colour); 43 1 inch-long pygmy frog (seen at the rock pool when Amy was swimming – still to be identified).

* Night sightings

K C and Amy Tsang
11th June 2007