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Blue-winged Leafbird

In the next few blog posts, I will be talking about some cool birds that I saw. This particular post I will be sharing about the Blue-winged Leafbird. This bird is very attractive, it has a green back, crown, a yellow belly and breast, a blue-tipped wing, and a black throat. This Leafbird is usually found in broadleaf forests. It is related to fairy-bluebirds, birds I also saw in Malaysia. The Blue-winged Leafbirds are omnivores, mainly consuming insects and arthropods, and the occasional fruit. Besides that it is presumed to consume nectar as well. Leafbirds are interesting because they are one of the few birds that evolved in South-east Asia, and later spread to the himalayas and other parts of Asia.     I saw this bird on the second day in Kubah, around noon. It was before the pavilion where we were going to head back. There was a lot of commotion, and all sorts of different birds started to show up, Fulvettas, Orioles, Drongos and of course, two Blue-winged Leafbirds. It was me t
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Rare in Taiwan, common in Malaysia

In this blog post I am going to talk about relatively common birds that I saw in Sarawak, but that are rare in Taiwan. There will be seven birds that I will share: the Brahminy Kite, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Western Hooded Pitta, Pied Triller, Scarlet Minivet, and the Collared Kingfisher. Brahminy Kite       Four of the seven birds were seen in and around Kuching, and quite effortlessly. I will arrange the birds in the order of which I saw them, the first being the White-breasted Woodswallow. This bird is very unique looking, with a grayish head and back, a large beak, and a white breast. Woodswallows are quite interesting because, despite their name, they are not swallows, but rather part of a group related to Corvids aka crows and ravens. They belong in the family Artamidae, and are related to butcherbirds and the Australian Magpie. Its behavior is similar to flycatchers. They are insectivores, sallying bugs from the sky. We saw this bird right outside our
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Malaysia Birding Trip (Sunbirds and Relatives)

In this blog post I will be sharing about a beautiful group of birds: sunbirds, spiderhunters, and flowerpeckers. Sunbirds and spiderhunters belong in the family Nectariniidae, which has 148 species, of which I saw six: the Long-billed Spiderhunter, Purple-naped Spiderhunter, Ornate Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Crimson Sunbird, and the Little Spiderhunter. Flowerpeckers belong in the Dicaeidae family, which has 53 species, but I only saw two though: the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and the Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker. Purple-naped Spiderhunter The Little and the Long-billed Spiderhunters are in the same genus, Arachnothera. Both are pretty dull-looking spiderhunters, with the Little Spiderhunter being the prettier of the two. It has a white breast, yellow underbelly, and white mustaches. It is not picky about its habitats, sometimes it can even be found in plantations and other disturbed habitats. It favors food similar to the hummingbirds of the Americas, taking nectar from durian,
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Malaysia Birding Trip ( Trogons)

 This blog post I will be sharing about Trogons, a family of birds we saw in Sarawak. Trogons are so special they are put in their own order, with Quetzals and other South American Trogons. Trogons are distantly related to woodpeckers, rollers, kingfishers and hornbills. Of the five species present in Borneo, we luckily saw three, all seen in Kubah National Park, of course with the help of Julianna. Female Scalet-rumped Trogon First I will talk about the Scarlet-rumped Trogon, which I saw on the first day in Kubah. All three of these trogons look similar, but this trogon doesn’t have a white band across its neck, and has a scarlet rump instead of a yellow one (hence the name). Is very adaptable to different habitats, from mangrove forests to dipterocarp forests. Mostly an insectivore, it will eat all sorts of bugs and beetles. This is a pretty common species in Borneo, but can be a bit difficult to observe. Usually its location is betrayed by its calls, and once spotted it is unmistaka
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Malasia Birding Trip ( Cuckoos and relatives )

 In this post I will share about cuckoos and their relatives, a type of bird I have been craving to see even back in Taiwan. In Sarawak, I saw five cuckoos, one of which I only heard. First, the Indian Cuckoo belongs in the Cuculus genus which has 11 members, while the Plaintive Cuckoo and Brush Cuckoo belong in the Cacomantis genus. Of the Malkohas that I saw, the Chestnut-breasted belongs to the Phaenicophaeus genus and the Raffles’s is genus Rhinortha, of which it is the sole member, and the Red-billed belongs in the Zanclostomus genus. The silhouette of a Indian Cuckoo The Indian Cuckoo is a pretty plain yet iconic cuckoo. It has a gray head, and a striped underbelly to confuse potential victims into thinking it’s a hawk. Cuckoos are infamous for practicing brood parasitism, laying eggs in other birds nests, mainly birds much smaller than cuckoos.  Prinas, drongos, and other small passerines all fall victim. This bird is an insectivore, usually feeding on caterpillars, but sometime
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Malaysia birding trip (Broadbills)

 In the next few blog posts, I will be sharing about the experiences I had while in Sarawak, Malaysia. We visited Sarawak during the winter break, and spent two fulfilling weeks there. Sarawak is located in Borneo, where almost everything is lush green rainforests. During this visit, we managed to see 120 species, and made  20 checklists.Because we had never birded in Southeast Asia, we easily saw 88 lifers! We visited three national parks, Kubah, Bako, and Batang Ai. Because we were unfamiliar with the birds and Sarawak in general, Dad arranged for a two-day bird guide in Kubah, and in Bako and Batang Ai, we had a very high-quality tour agency, Borneo Adventures. Our bird guide, Julianna, was super experienced and highly professional. She would slow down, listen for a second, then immediately find the particular bird sound she was looking for, and play it, so the bird would reply. Julianna told us before we headed out,   “no playing bird sound, no birds.”  In this particular post I am
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Kenting Raptor Migration

Crested Serpent-Eagle Every October, my family travels south to Kenting (in Pingtung) on the national Day of Taiwan. We visit for the purpose of seeing the breath-taking migration of raptors - thousands upon thousands - journeying to their wintering grounds. Because Taiwan is a key rest stop for birds, there are many places to observe this particular migration.  A kettle of raptors Of all the migrating raptors, the Grey-faced Buzzard and the Chinese Sparrowhawk are the ones that are the most abundant. Hundreds of thousands pass through Taiwan every year. The Grey-faced Buzzard is a medium-sized raptor, with a mouse-gray face, a black-tipped beak, a very obvious throat streak, brownish wings, horizontal streaking in the underbody, and bright orange talons. The Chinese Sparrowhawk on the other hand is much smaller in size, has a blueish-gray back and head, and black-tipped wings. Adults lack a throat streak, whereas juveniles have one. Grey-faced Buzzard This year we had a slight cha
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