Skip to main content

Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Grey-breasted Spiderhunter
灰胸捕蛛鸟




I was delighted to come across a parasitic mistletoe species at Sg Sedim which bore white flowers, my first encounter of its kind. Flowers of common Malayan mistletoe species which we usually see are yellow or orange in color. I was even happier when I saw a spiderhunter, the mistletoe’s pollinator, sipping nectar from the flowers, and the bird turned out to be a grey-breasted spiderhunter, a lifer for me.
...
(14th July 2016, Sungai Sedim Kedah.)











The mistletoe’s pollinator, sipping nectar from the flowers, and the bird turned out to be a grey-breasted spiderhunter,







































After studying and comparing the various species of spiderhunters, my
method of identifying if it is a grey-breasted spiderhunter is as follows:
 a: It has grey with short dashes from the throat down which
ends with vague and wavy longer streaks on the breast.
 b: It has yellow linings on the lower edge of each
wing; c: There are barred brownish lines on its vent.






 I was delighted to come across a parasitic mistletoe species at Sg Sedim which bore white flowers, my first encounter of its kind.
 Flowers of common Malayan mistletoe species which we usually see are yellow or orange in color. This species is white, a rare one for me. I have yet to find out its name.
Its young leaves are dark red, just like those of common Malayan mistletoe.
 It is a much bigger in size than the common Malayan mistletoe. It has the volume of a tree, only bigger and parasitizes on another tree.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blue-throated Bee-eater

Blue-throated Bee-eater 蓝喉蜂虎 Blue-throated bee-eaters can often be found sitting on the perch in pairs or small groups. While scanning for flying preys or for other purposes, their heads are often found moving together, in synchronization, at the same time, in the same direction . (June 2016) The bee-eaters eat more diverse species of flying insects than its name suggests. They include dragonflies, moths, flies, flying ants, carpenter bees etc. After catching the insects in the bill, they often bang the preys on the branch they perch to injure and break them further before swallowing them.   They may toss the preys into the air before catching them for further manipulation and or swallowing. (June 2016, Kubang Semang)

Mangrove Blue Flycatcher

Mangrove Blue Flycatcher 红树仙鶲 The first picture is a juvenile, second is female adult, third is a male adult. Note that the juvenile looks quite different from the adults. They live in the mangrove swamps of Air Hitam Dalam and have got so used to human visitors they are not shy to get close. The juvenile is believed to have just left its nest not too long ago. (June 2016, Air Hitam Dalam)

Pitta

Blue-winged Pitta 马来八色鸫   Although easy for some, photographing this bird has been elusive for me for a year or more, and today, it just came out to the open.   When it appeared, it was mostly on the ground or low branches. My friend said that it was quite likely having some chicks to feed, as such it was more willing to take risk looking for worms.    Chinese named it 马来八色鸫, translated as "Malayan Eight-colored Pitta". I counted the colors, but I only got seven. Colors are subjective qualities. But few would argue much if we state that it is a colorful and beautiful bird. (29th Apr 2016 Air Hitam Dalam)