In The Fields

I spent most of the time birding around the paddyfields in my local patch during the vacation. Now I'm back in Beppu, so I have to clear up those photos I took. Even though it had been raining a lot in Thailand, I actually liked it because it made the air much fresher and cooler, just perfect for a morning bicycle ride. I expected to see some interesting migrants but it seemed a bit too early for them. If I stayed in Thailand until the end of this month, there might be more chances for me to see some decent migrants. The most interesting one I saw was a single adult Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus) briefly landed just a few metres away from me and flushed out on the very same second it landed on the perch. It's a shame I couldn't get any photo of it since it's a very beautiful cuckoo as you can see here.

Male Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris delacouri)

The same male Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris delacouri) was still doing well protecting its own territory. I went back again with a tripod to get some more videos of the bird and the result is as above. Please try selecting the HD 1080p to fully enjoy the pleasure of viewing. There was also another juvenile bird hopping around in the same bush. I assumed it was the fledgling of this handsome male bird.

Juvenile and adult Chestnut-capped Babblers (Timalia pileata smithi)

A common birdscape; 3 Spotted Doves and a Long-tailed Shrike (L.s.tricolor)

Lesser Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna javanica)

Male White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus)

Birds in my local patch were quite stable. All the familiar faces were still presenting well, especially the hyper-active Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata smithi) family. The juveniles still seemed to hang out well with their parents even though they should be ready to live by themselves. A few Lesser Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna javanica) were staying in a small flooded area among the giant mimoca bush. I tried to get some good photos of them but they always swam into the bush right before I could get any decent shot. The above photo was my best try. A family of 2 adult and 2 small White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) chicks and a juvenile Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) were also staying in the same area.

Juvenile Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)

Adult and juvenile Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura punctulata topela)

Male Oriental Magpie-Robin (Copsychus saularis)

On the same day that I photographed the Black Baza at Mae Hia in the post below, I also got a chance to see a pair of Small Asian Mongooses (Herpestes javanicus) out in the open. It is very difficult to see this shy mammal in the open especially for a long period of time. I normally see them running away into the bush or swimming away, as they're also a good swimmer. The pair that I saw seemed to be interested in something in the paddyfield below. There were 2 White-breasted Waterhens, a Red-wattled Lapwing and 2 Chinese Pond-Herons trying to mob the mongooses, so I guess they were interested in something belonging to one of these birds. One of the mongooses was smaller with much darker fur and another one was larger with more brightly rufous fur. I realised that the smaller one was a female as they even performed a mating scene several times before disappearing into the grass.

Small Asian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)

And the rare mating scene!

Chestnut-capped Babbler

These photos were taken on the same day as the Racket-tailed Treepie below. The Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata) seems to be a local "star" for my local patch. Though widespread and not uncommon, there's actually a few places where these birds are 100% guaranteed. Here at Mae Taeng River, it is now one of the most numerous little brown jobs. Its population seems to have increased from the past, when its close relative Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense) used to be much commoner. These two species prefer similar habitats, open grasslands and riverbeds, so it is likely that they've always been competing to each other. I still remember how difficult to see a Chestnut-capped Babbler back then when I started birding, and now they're almost everywhere.

Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata)

I came across a flock of about 7-8 birds shortly after I photographed the treepie. It was a family flock consisting of 2 parents and at least 5 fledglings. It was the first time for me to see and photograph the juvenile birds. They have much paler look; paler chestnut cap, paler greyish neck and pale yellowish gape. They always moved together in the same order; parents first, then the kids. After I photographed the family, I moved on the next location, a small muddy track near the Thai Yai temple on the opposite side of the river, I came across another pair of Chestnut-capped Babblers, marking the new range of its distribution. The habitat here is quite different from the former location, being mainly cultivated areas and very close to human.

One of the two Chestnut-capped Babblers from the new spot

Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites)

Apart from the babbler, there were also several interesting species including the Cinnamon and Yellow Bittern, which were seen flying around everywhere. These birds are numerous, but almost impossible to see when they're on the ground. The Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) is the less common one. I was quite lucky when a juvenile bird came landing on a grassy dike in front of me. Normally these birds would immediately run into thicker grass, but this young bird was kind enough to hang around for a few minutes. Maybe it was stunned and didn't know what to do. There were also many Wood Sandpipers (Tringa glareola) in the rice fields but they were all skittish as usual. A young female Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) was also seen for the first time for this fall migration.

Juvenile Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)

Chestnut-capped Babbler

So this should be the last post for my Thai bird photos I took during the vacation, before I resume my blog into Japanese stuffs. I spent my last few days in Thailand going to the same place I mentioned about in the earlier post repeatedly. Everytime I visited the place, I saw quite many of this cute Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata) moving around in tall grasses. I estimated at least 6 pairs of the birds plus a lone juvenile which always followed after a pair that seemed to be its parents. There should be more, of course, which I couldn't see.

I always tried to get up as early as I could and go straight to the place as birds were most active during early morning. The Chestnut-capped Babblers were as well more active when the sun hasn't risen up so high in the sky. Being there early also gave me the chance to watch them sing on exposed branches. Male birds have sweet thrilling songs which became one of the main background voices in the area. When singing, the birds choose exposed perch like on the top of tall grass and open twigs. They also have another kind of song which is much harsher, louder and more aggressive, which they normally use to contact each others.

Chestnut-capped Babbler (Timalia pileata)