BY 2024 - Herman and Kit's 7th (!what?!) year

[Kitsafari]

143. Malaysian Blue Flycatcher, Kinabatangan River

 

A lifer for me, this blue flycatcher is on the Near Threatened status and is distributed from Peninsular Malaysia down to Sumatra and Borneo. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 16 by Kitsafari

[Peter Connan]

3 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

 

@Peter Connanthank you! you prompted me to check the specifics of the hornbills. There are 62 hornbill species in the world, all but two in the family of Bucorvidae, the ground-dwelling hornbills, live in trees, and some in very tall trees at that. 

Excluding the Bucrovidae family, the Great Hornbill and the Helmeted Hornbill are about the same weight at around 4kg or 8.8lbs. Length-wise, the Great Hornbill - at 51in/130cm - is shorter than the Helmeted which is at 67in/170cm, but the Helmeted has a tail that is as long as 50cm/20in. 

 

If the ground hornbills are included, the Southern Ground Hornbill is less shorter in length at 50in/129cm but its weight at 6.2kg/13.7lbs makes it the heavyweight champion of all hornbills.

 

So the longest hornbill is the Helmeted but the heaviest is the southern ground hornbill. 

 

As an aside, the smallest hornbill is the 15 in (38 cm) long, red-billed dwarf hornbill (Tockus camurus) of West Africa. 

 

most of the data are from Wikipedia 

 

Fascinating.

Well, at least this proves that your efforts in writing the comments are not always completely wasted, some of us do read at least some of them...

 

 

Some more really beautiful birds and great photography.

Edited May 16 by Peter Connan

[Zim Girl]

Lovely new additions, @Kitsafari.

We travelled to all these places in Sabah many years ago, but we weren't remotely interested in birding back then, so it's nice to see what we missed.

[PeterHG]

Another superb batch of birds and photos from Sabah. I need to start thinking about this as a future destination, but then I'll probably find out both of you made it look too easy to see and photograph such a wealth of beautiful birds....;)

[michael-ibk]

Brilliant birds and photos a Kit and Herman! Love the Hornbill series especially, but also your magnificent #100 - congrats on that! I hope you've gotten all your targets in Darwin. And just following up on what Peter said, I always read and enjoy your comments on all the different birds, so thanks for doing that. 

[pedro maia]

So many beautiful species but the highlights for me are the hornbills, the Helmeted is a stunner!

[Kitsafari]

@Peter Connan @Zim Girl @PeterHG @michael-ibk @pedro maia Thanks much. we were very pleased with the hornbill collection too!

 

On 5/16/2024 at 2:05 PM, Peter Connan said:

 

Fascinating.

Well, at least this proves that your efforts in writing the comments are not always completely wasted, some of us do read at least some of them...

 

 

Some more really beautiful birds and great photography.

 

 

On 5/17/2024 at 7:29 PM, michael-ibk said:

Brilliant birds and photos a Kit and Herman! Love the Hornbill series especially, but also your magnificent #100 - congrats on that! I hope you've gotten all your targets in Darwin. And just following up on what Peter said, I always read and enjoy your comments on all the different birds, so thanks for doing that. 

 

@Peter Connan and @michael-ibk much appreciated of you both and everyone else for taking the time to read the background write-ups ! sometimes I write them to remind myself as well!

 

On 5/16/2024 at 11:53 PM, PeterHG said:

Another superb batch of birds and photos from Sabah. I need to start thinking about this as a future destination, but then I'll probably find out both of you made it look too easy to see and photograph such a wealth of beautiful birds....;)

 

It wasn't easy! with your skills however,  it'll be easy peasy for you once the birds are located. Our guide David Tseu, a Sabahian, made it easier for us. he guides in the state so he knows the good spots for good birds! we can recommend him.  

 

[Kitsafari]

Just back from Darwin 2 days ago and I was tied up trying to clear the photos. Still midway but I thought I'll take a break from that and continue the Sabah count. 

 

144. Banded Bay Cuckoo, RDC

 

A widespread cuckoo distributed from Indian sub-continent to Southeast Asia, including Borneo. 

[Kitsafari]

145.  Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Kinabalu Park

 

A tough bird to shoot (with a camera) and it was only on the last morning of our time at Mount Kinabalu that our guide saw them. It was moving with a couple others inside the thick trees and each time we caught sight of them, they would move. Only one of us managed a full shot of the bird, while the rest got only parts of the body or blurred blobs. Found in primary montane forests, the bird is known to shy away from humans unlike its cousins the Sunda and chestnut-hooded laughingthrushes. 

It's confined only to north-eastern and central highlands of Borneo. A lifer for us both.

I'll put up the photos as proof we saw them!

 

Missing the head

 

EBC from Herman!

 

 

[Kitsafari]

146. Black-and-red Broadbill, Kinabatangan River

 

Loads of this bright broadbill along the tributaries, some just posing in the open on sticks in the water until they heard our boat nearing them. The species favours waterside and riverine lowland forests, mangroves and plantations in their natural range from southern Thailand down to Sumatra and Borneo.

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

147. Black-sided or Bornean Flowerpecker, Kinabalu Park

 

A Bornean endemic that is generally the only flowerpecker that is found on the island's montane forests.  A cropped shot of this tiny fast-moving lifer species (for me).

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

148. Buff-necked Woodpecker, Kinabatangan River

 

A small woodpecker without a crest. Distributed in Southeast Asia. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

149. Checker-throated Woodpecker, Kinabalu Park

 

[Kitsafari]

150. Bornean Green-Magpie, Kinabalu Park

 

Only seen once, it was following very silently in the wake of a flock of sunda laughingthrushes. Very stealthy but spectacularly colourful, the species is endemic to Borneo and found only in montane forests in central Borneo. 

Lifer for me. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

151. Bold-striped Tit-Babbler, Kinabatangan River

 

Another one of those rapid-moving tiny bird. Found mainly in Borneo with a smattering in northern Java. 

 

[Kitsafari]

152. Grey-hooded Babbler, RDC/Telupid/Kinabalu Park

 

A Bornean endemic species. Lifer for me. 

 

[Kitsafari]

153. Grey-throated Babbler, Kinabalu Park

 

[Kitsafari]

154. Buffy Fish Owl, Kinabatangan River 

 

[Kitsafari]

155. Chestnut Munia, Kota Kinabalu

 

[Kitsafari]

156. Dusky Munia, Kota Kinabalu

 

Lifer for both of us. A Bornean endemic, the munia is dark brown all over and forages with its cousins the chestnut munias in grasslands. They are however shyer than the its cousins and vanishes swiftly once we approach them. Seeing them in the fences was the only opportunity for photographs, unfortunately. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

157. Dark-necked Tailorbird, Road to Gomantong caves

 

An EBC shot of a juvenile. 

 

[Kitsafari]

158. Fulvous-chested Jungle Flycatcher, Telupid

 

This amiable flycatcher kept us entertained at a hide. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

159. Grey-cheeked Bulbul, Telupid

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

160. Red-eyed Bulbul, RDC

 

A common bird in Southeast Asian forested and forest-fringed areas. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

161. Lesser Cuckooshrike, RDC

 

the female in this case, looks more attractive. 

 

male

 

female