Belated BY - 6th year! Herman&Kit

[Kitsafari]

334. Zebra Dove

 

Plenty in Singapore as well but for Bali records I'll put it here. 

 

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The four-day birding was initially meant to be only on the island of Bali but the guide Dian persuaded us to take a ferry across to East Java where a number of Javan endemics could be seen. It was fairly straightforward - the driver and Dian would be with us in the vehicle which would drive onto the ferry and then it was about an hour or so to Ijen Mountain where the endemics can be found. Dian was an excellent and hardworking guide but had limited English which was countered by the better English-speaking driver who also helped in spotting! I however lost my temper with the lead guide and owner of the birding company as he showed blatant favouritism for his own guests and could not control those guests who were noisy and moved a lot in the hide - not great companions if the birds are the skittish and nervous type. But in the end we did get most of the birds but we couldn't wait to get out of the hide. 

 

A hide is a necessary convenience to see those forest birds which are very nervous and otherwise impossible to find in a dense and huge forest. The guides use feed to lure them in, although sometimes guides can misuse the callback which they leave in a continuous loop. if we are on our own, at times I would tell the guide to stop for a bit.   

 

The ferry ride was very very pleasant - I think we left the hotel at about 3.30am (edited after H reminded me it was even earlier than 4.30am) in the darkness of the night but the ferry terminal at Gilmanuk was bustling at that time. The terminal is the main route through which all supplies from the mainland are delivered to Bali. The road runs through the Bali Barat national park

 

 

Mount Ijen is part of a volcano complex and is popular with Indonesians who drive up to see the crater and the world's largest acidic crater lake. We didn't know that and were too busy seeking birds to do the touristy thing! But we did get up mid-way the mountain in time to see the sunrise. 

 

 

 

   

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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209. Snowy-browed Flycatcher, East Java

 

(already in the count for the Sabah section) 

 

male

 

female

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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336. Horsfield's Babbler

 

Distributed only in Peninsular and eastern Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. 

 

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195.  Indigo Flycatcher

 

(edited to correct number - already in the Sabah list)

Found mainly in Borneo, Sumatra and Java, it looks like the pale blue flycatcher but for a black band that stretches from eye to eye and a whiter belly. Both males and females of the species look similar. 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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338. Pale Blue Flycatcher

 

The comparatively larger pale blue has a wider distribution ranging from the eastern Himalayan region through Indochina down to Southeast Asia to Indonesia and Borneo, excluding the Philippines. The males and females look different with the male in pale blue back and a greyish whitish belly while the pretty female is dressed in brown with a white throat and belly. 

 

male

 

female

 

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339. Chinese Sparrowhawk

 

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340. Crested Serpent Eagle

 

Raptors were missing in Bali but were in the skies up in the mountain.

 

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341. Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher

 

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210. Abberant Bush Warbler

 

(edited to correct number - already in the Sabah list)

Also known as the Sunda bush warbler in the sunda region, this sub-species (Horornis vulcanius) was counted as a separate species in some taxonomy. 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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Moving on to a handful of Near endemics - those species that have ranges only from Sumatra through Java to Sunda islands. 

 

343. Small Blue Kingfisher, Bali

 

Better known as the Cerulean Kingfisher, which is a better and nicer name I think, the tiny blue gem has a snowy-white throat, belly and facial patches. The guide knows the best places to spot them, although it is way across in a pond in a water treatment facility. This was one of target birds. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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344. Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker, Bali

 

An Indonesian endemic. 

 

 male

 

 

female

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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345. Sunda Minivet, Bali

 

A long-tailed inhabitant that is found generally in foothills and montane forests in Java and Sumatra and Bali. 

 

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45. Scarlet Minivet

 

The Javan sub-species of the scarlet minivet is clad in black and orange attire instead of the typical black and scarlet red, and is found only in Java and Bali.  As it isn't recognised as a separate species, I've tagged it to the earlier count  in my list. 

 

 

 

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346. Javan Munia, Bali 

 

Endemic to Sumatra to Java and Bali, the range of this munia has now extended to Malaysia and Singapore. 

 

 

 

 

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347. Orange-spotted Bulbul, Mount Ijen 

 

Endemic to Sumatra, Java, and Bali and introduced to Lombok, the bulbul is on the Near Threatened list. It has distinctive bright orange patches on the face. That distinctive look has unfortunately made it a big target for the caged bird trade which is massive in Indonesia, so the species faces intense poaching pressure in all three islands.

 

 

 

parent on the nest

 

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345. Ruby-throated Bulbul, Mount Ijen

 

(count is adjusted for three repeats)

 

Another target for the trapped bird trade, the species has a thin ruby throat that can be hard to see unless the bird stretches its neck. The declines are quite steep landing the bird on the Vulnerable list; IUCN noted that surveys done in 2020 across Java and Bali revealed that the bird was found in the wild in only 51 of the 7,935 tetrads (2 × 2 km squares) visited (T. Squires and S. Marsden 2020 report).

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Kitsafari

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Missed one more near endemic - 

 

346. Pink-headed Fruit Dove, EJava

 

We were very keen to get this beautiful dove so much so that we skipped the white-bibbed babbler - a Javan endemic - at the hide (we also wanted to get out of the hide asap). The male dove wasn't an easy sighting. it took at least 3 tries, the last of which was because Dian was not ready to admit defeat and after lunch we returned to have another try. Finally, it did. It was very high in the tree and moved frequently among the branches and leaves, giving very  little opportunity for an open shot, and even then it was in the harsh sunlight. But what a gorgeous bird. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

The next batch of birds is that of Javan endemics - species that are found only in Java and/or Bali.  The total number of Javan endemics vary quite a bit depending on which article one is reading. I could not find a definitive and reliable number but the number seems to average around 40. The thing that all the reports agree on is the precipitous rate in which the songbirds are diminishing in Java and Bali due to the unsustainable bird trade and deep-rooted caged songbird culture and the popularity of songbird competitions.

 

347. Black-banded Barbet, East Java

 

A true Javan endemic that is not naturally distributed in Bali, the black-banded barbet is a difficult target as it stays up in the thick forest canopy. On the Near Threatened list, the fairly large bird has a red throat and black eye mask with a yellow crown and yellow spots at the base of its huge bill. 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Kitsafari

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348. Flame-fronted Barbet, East Java

 

Found only in Java and Bali, the medium-sized barbet has a yellowish-orange forehead and a powder blue crown with a little orange strip at its neck. Dian found its nest (next to the road) and though we didn't see the chick, the barbet was busy clearing the best. Again, the bird was fairly high up in the tree. 

 

 

 

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349. Javan Grey-throated White-eye, East Java

 

The species is found in Java and Bali. Even in Java, the species can have varying features. Unlike other white-eye species, the Javan Heleia - its local name - does not have the typical white full ring around its eyes. The white patches around the eyes are thin in the montane areas of far western and far eastern Java with a dark patch between the eyes and the base of the bill. In central Java, the white patches are larger but poor defined. 

 

 

 

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350. Blood-breasted Flowerpecker, Bali

 

Our last day dawned gloomy and foggy. That made birds tough to find at the Bali Botanical Gardens where the cicadas were so loud, it just drowned out Dian's attempts to play calls. In fact, our cameras weren't put to work until Dian brought us to the only bungalow for rental in the gardens. Fortunately, the day we were there, the bungalow was empty, so we took our time there to shoot this tiny but very pretty creature.  The male has an iridescent dark blue back and spots a bright red chest (hence blood-breasted!) with a black line that runs down the belly. Its calls - when not drowned out by the cicadas - include high-pitched whistels and buzzy katydid-like notes. 

 

 

 

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351. Green Junglefowl, Bali National Park

 

A very shy species, the luminous green junglefowl was found in the dry tropical rainforest grounds of a luxurious resort called  Plataran Menjangan Resort & Spa. Distributed only in Java, Bali and the Sunda islands.  

 

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352. Javan Cuckooshrike, Bali

 

We found this species on the Plataran grounds as well. eBird lists the Javan shrike (coracina javensis) as a separate species from the Large cuckooshrike (coracina macei). There is also a Sunda Cuckooshrike, which we didn't see, which is darker and found only in the Sunda region. 

 

 

as a separate species 

 

 

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353. Javan Plover, Bali

 

Distributed from Java to Sunda islands including Timor Leste and the Sulawesi islands, the Javan Plover looks very similar to the Kentish and Malaysian Plovers, which are also found in the same areas. The Javan plover has a warm brown patch behind the ears with paler legs and lacks the orange patch on the crown during breeding. 

 

 

Juve