Thaibirds and more

It may not be colorful but it has character and style. Loves to hover in the air before striking a mortal blow to an unexpected pray. Not easily found in Thailand but nevertheless occurs in a wide area in the Central region. This is a breeding pair from the great Chaopraya river in Ayutthaya province. I got these from a blind.

Huay Hong Krai, 20 some kilometers out of Chiang Mai on the way to Chiang Rai is where one needs to go to see Green Peafowl in the wild. Well, some don't think they originate from a wild population but I can testify to the lack of tameness of these birds. They are easily shooed away and outright hard to get a decent shot of. As big as they are they readily take to higher branches when alarmed. I saw a flock of 6 birds that took off from high in the trees and flew across the waters nearby to settle in the forest across. Quite a sight to see these huge birds in flight.

I was in the North for a week with my family doing some very exciting school programs in the hills. More about that later. I managed to sneak up on Doi Inthanon one morning. It is past the breeding season and too early for migrants at this altitude. One of my absolute favorite birds up at the bog (2565m a.s.l) is the tiny Pygmy Wren Babbler. The penetrating call of the bird is easy to identify but to spot the bird in the moss laden montane oak forest is another thing. I was so pleased to get a decent shot of it. Another tiny and incredibly active bird from the bog at the summit: Rufous-winged Fulvetta. They move about in small parties in search for food. Very hard to get a shot of. In Thailand I only know of one 'sure spot' to see the Snowy-browed Flycatcher and that is at the bog of the Summit of Doi Inthanon. The bird is actually seen in many a high mountain in SEA and when I visited Mt. Kinabalu it was one of the most common passerines. Here is a shot of the handsome male. O...

Breeding is still happening in the wetlands. The Plain Prinia is the most common prinia. Prinias are resident warblers that inhabit marshes, grasslands and secondary growth. The rarest are Brown and Hill Prinia found only on mountains further North. Anyone visiting Central Thailand evidently has to encounter the Plain Prinia. It love to perch exposed from a reed, a bush, a stick etc. It has a monotonous call zee-zee-zee-zee that is easily heard. Here it is perching a few meters from its nest checking that the 'coast is clear' before bringing the grub to the chicks. Some sort of a smaller cricket will also do. The nest with the opening on the top. Leaving for some more grubs. Easy fieldmarks is the long and often cocked tail and white supercilium.

One of the more colorful bird found in some larger parks in the Bangkok area. These shots are from King's Park (Suan Luang) which isn't too far from the Suwanaphom airport. News of a male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher drew me to the park on Satuday morning. The bird was not co-operative for close shots. There were atleast 20 Thai bird photographers trying their best. Instead, at about 8:45 a flock of about 15 of these lovely birds came by. They are quite vocal with their peeping calls. It was a mixture of males, females and young birds. One male adult had the company of a young bird which was very demanding. The father had to work very hard to find grubs for it. Sometimes it seemed that the birds would 'dance in the air' as they did little tumbles and flew against the wind then letting the wind carry them before doing some more acrobatics. Very nice to observe these colorful birds at close range. Here is a brightly colored male: And here is the young bird with wings spread a...

This is a bird not often seen in Thailand. There is a fairly regular population at an arid area in western part of Petburi province but it involves a bit of a drive. I have seen individuals in arid areas near Kaengkrachan park as well. However, when this bird appeared in a suburban park of Bangkok it was unusual. The park is huge and has had some good records of late such as Fairy Pitta: new species for Thailand, and Narcissus Flycatcher. I got wind of the bird through some local websites and knew where to look for it. It was said to be on a small 'island' called 'dog island'. This is a place where stray dogs as well as unwanted dogs are sheltered. I drove the loop slowly in search for my bird but failed to see it. Decided to step out of the car in hope of flushing it. Did those dogs ever bark at a large caocasian on their grounds! I walked around and finally decided to get back to the car. That is when I flushed the bird. Off it flew. I followed it with my eyes, quic...

The rain season is the best time to find these lovely little birds. Restricted to a fairly small range and being threatened by loss of suitable breeding habitat help to make them sought after. They are fairly easy to take note of as they are very active in their breeding colonies. I often see them in colonies of up to 20 pairs. Birds fly in and out and vocalize a lot. I have started seeing more nesting birds in small groups of 2-3 pairs. Possibly an indication of the increasing difficulty in finding suitable habitat? The male is strikingly golden whereas the female have more of the traditional colors of a sparrow. Here is the female bringing some nesting material. From what I have observed it is only the males that build the nest and it is up to the females to accept or reject. I often see empty nests in a colony so obviously not all nests pass inspection. The female seem to be the one to patch up the inside if the nest.