Red-bellied Pitta

There isn't much that can live up to the excitement of getting a new Pitta species. In this case I knew the Red-bellied wouldn't be that hard once I was within its distribution range. But how to get to either the PI or Sulawesi.
Happily so, Airasia opened up a route from KL to Manado. Prompto, there I was!
I wanted to see the many endemic birds to the island but the Pitta was still my top of the list bird.

Samuel, the guide at Tangkoko knew the whereabouts of a pair. I had seen poor views of it at Tambun and was keen to get the 'real thing'. Samuel whistled and soon the birds responded. It was amazing to see how relatively confiding they were. Try doing that with a Blue or Eared Pitta in Thailand and you'll see what I mean.

I still struggled to get good shots as there were a lot of branches, bushes, etc blocking from clear views.
Eventually I ended up with these and a memorable encounter.....

Comments

Anonymous said…

what e great bird photography...the most beautiful one...

December 28, 2009 at 9:55 PM

Wut Tum Prathoon, Chonburi

About an hour and 20 minutes drive from my home in Bangkok there is a temple on a little hill. The hill is surrounded by a forest that hold both resident and migratory birds. At the temple there is a permanent hide with seating for about 8 people. The hide is for free. A hose with dripping water and a bath is set up for the birds. This hide has some regular species that make use of the water as continuously. I have visited the hide a few times, mainly mid day when birds are hot and come to bath. Here is a sample of birds I have seen of late. Siberian Blue Robin, female Emerald Dove Amur Paradise Flycatcher Streak-eared Bulbul Black-headed Bulbul Racket-tailed Treepie Sooty-headed Bulbul Eye-browed Thrush Chestnut-flanked White-eye Orange-headed Thrush Black-crested Bulbul Verditer Flycatcher Oriental Magpie Robin

Emerald Cuckoo

This shiny little bird always causes excitement. Quite easy to observe at Pah Gloaymai campsite at Khao Yai during the right time of year. It is simply very busy gleaning grubs from the fairly low trees found at the campsite.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler and Lanceolated Warbler

It took me quite some time to develop an interest in various types of Warblers. There are so many other more obvious birds full of color and easier to see then this often rather skulky group of birds. But evidently one starts to wonder what is making all those sounds that eminate from the reed beds so armed with curiosity and a lot of trial and error the quest began. This spring before these bird migrated to their breeding grounds in Siberia etc I spent more time getting to know them and trying to learn both sounds and behavior a bit better. One of the more attractive one is the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler aka Rusty-rumped Warbler. It belongs to the family of Locustella warblers but this family which now has been split in to 2 clades. Helopsaltes is a genus of passerine birds in the grassbird family Locustellidae . A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the grassbird family Locustellidae published in 2018 found that the genus Locustella consist...

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