Feathers

Asian openbill storks and Apple snails From far, I thought I saw some striking red “chili padi” fruits in the rice fields. With the camera zooming in, I thought they were the eggs of frogs. With some research later, they were in fact the eggs of apple snails, or golden apple snails. Apple snails are pests to farmers, as they eat up quickly and damage the rice seedlings after sowing. The snails can be delicacies to human. I have tried them in Ipoh several years ago at one restaurant in Ipoh Tasek called Bukit Tambun Seafood Restaurant. The half-cooked snails were delicious but we were advised by the restaurant to remove the slimy internal organs and the albumen glands before eating. I stopped after having two or three of them, due to my feeling of the unhygienic cooking. Asian openbill storks are known to eat the apple snails as their favourite food. I have not seen any farmer doing anything to drive away or harm the flocks of birds. Rice field farmers understandably welc...

Scarlet Minivet 赤红山椒鸟 Very pleased to see this loving couple very briefly in Tupah, Merbok, Kedah. The male has bright striking color of scarlet and the female yellow. (15th May, 2016, Tupah, Kedah)

Slaty-backed Forktail 灰背燕尾 If not because of being pre-informed of the species by our birder friends, I would have mistaken this bird on first sight to be the commonly seen magpie robin ( 喜鹊 , 猪屎喳 ) 。  “S laty” means gray-liked or dark grey. (9/5/2016, Fraser’s Hill)

Blyth’s Shrike-babbler 红翅鵙鹛 Birding in Fraser’s Hill often rewards you with a pleasant surprise such as this shrike-babbler which appeared on a tree just in front of the rest house we lodged in. (9/5/2015, Fraser’s Hill)

Large Cuckooshrike ( Formerly Javan Cuckooshrike) 爪哇鹃鵙   When I look for more information about this greyish bird, I got the following narrative from Mr Hum Kim Choy’s book “Winged Wonders: Malaysian Heritage” : “When birding in Fraser’s Hill, one will always be able to “bag” this species. It hangs around at tourist spots. It eats moths and insects attracted by lights at night…”. It cannot be more accurately described. It paints the exact scenario of where and how I got this bird --- Fraser’s Hill; tourist spot; moths attracted by floodlights at night. (9/5/2016, Fraser’s Hill)

Malaysian Hill Partridge (or Campbell's Hill partridge) 砍氏山鹧鸪 This “Partridge Family” of six obviously do not know that they are already celebrities of international status. We met groups of birders from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and locally from Penang, Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh, KL, Kuantan and Johor Bahru just to catch a sight of this family. Many waited for hours and likely days to snap photos of their stars. First day, we waited for 3 hours only to be driven off by an abrupt rain showers that soaked our clothes and whole bodies. Second day, with the advice from our experienced birder friend, we went at the right time and successfully got the images of the birds without the hassle of having to tussle for a strategic camera position against the groups of international enthusiasts. The grey and brownish colors of the feathers that matches well with the surroundings are meant more as a camouflage to me. Yet the color patterns and matchings are smooth and pleasi...