Forest birds

erwinx · 27th December 2003

Not as skilled as mphil to get Asian Fairy-bluebird, but got some interesting species nonetheless. Except for the olive-winged bulbul, this is the first time I've photographed these species so yes, I'm very excited about forest birds... whole new set of species... most are heavily cropped because its really hard to get close. Flowerpecker bottom left cloned out a leaf.

Hope my ID is correct...

mphil · 27th December 2003

As usual, great shots of these hard to catch birds. Got a glimpse of the flowerpecker, but it never stayed long enough for me to focus. Other comments:-
1. Drongo - looks like Bronze Drongo. My pics are a lot worse!
2. Bulbul - Looks like the Spectacled Bulbul - the diagnostic eyering gives it away. Olive winged Bulbul has a darker red eyes and no eye ring. Also, habitat wise, the Olive Winged Bulbul is commonly found in mangroves (I should know), and the Spectacled Bulbul is found in forests.
3. Same for the Cream Vented, could be a Spectacled Bulbul - do you have a sideways mugshot to see the eyering?
4. As for the AFB, well is was a chance encounter not skill...

Looks like there are many more species in there waiting for us to shoot! Will be back there next week once I clear some work first.

kendo · 27th December 2003

Erwinx, good to have you search out and photograph our forest birds.

1) The "drongo" is a Drongo Cuckoo.

2) Agree with your ID of the Cream-vented Bulbul.

3) I believe the last pic is that of the Red-eyed Bulbul, an uncommon resident of the central forests. Olive-winged Bulbuls have some streakes on the sides of the 'face'.

4) Also,the last known status of the Spectacled Bulbul in Singapore is "extinct".

Good job!

erwinx · 28th December 2003

thanks for the useful information.

My birding ability is not high enough to distinguish olive-winged from red-eyed bulbul... to me, both have red-eye... same for Drongos... all seem black to me

Hope to learn more from the experts.

mphil · 28th December 2003

Yeah, Thanks Kendo. Wasnt sure of the ids myself. How did you id the Cuckoo Drongo? There are a few of the Drongos that look very similar too. Also, its a pity that the Spectacled Bulbul has become extinct here.

kendo · 28th December 2003

For the Drongo Cuckoo, the distinguishing feature is the white markings on the inside of the tail, as can be seen in the picture. I learnt this from an expert on an outing.

At this outing, everyone was looking at coppersmith barbets when this black drongo-like bird came, the expert was busy, so he said "see whether got white markings on the tail", while still looking at the barbets in the other direction. So another newbie and me looked thru our binos but due to the angle (and inexperience) couldn't see any white markings, so we thought that it was a
Greater Racket-tailed Drongos that has lost its 'racquets'. Then the expert turned around to have a look (one look!) and he said "Drongo Cuckoo!" Just then the bird decided to fly away. So i learnt it the 'hard way' - it was the 1st time i saw the bird, but i'll remember it!

The other Drongos, like you mentioned, are difficult to tell apart, all got black plumage with red eyes; worse still - some Greater Racket-tailed Drongos for one reason or another, don't have the characteristic 'racquets'!

27th December 2003	#1
erwinx Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,492	Forest birds Not as skilled as mphil to get Asian Fairy-bluebird, but got some interesting species nonetheless. Except for the olive-winged bulbul, this is the first time I've photographed these species so yes, I'm very excited about forest birds... whole new set of species... most are heavily cropped because its really hard to get close. Flowerpecker bottom left cloned out a leaf. Hope my ID is correct...

27th December 2003	#2
mphil Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 465	As usual, great shots of these hard to catch birds. Got a glimpse of the flowerpecker, but it never stayed long enough for me to focus. Other comments:- 1. Drongo - looks like Bronze Drongo. My pics are a lot worse! 2. Bulbul - Looks like the Spectacled Bulbul - the diagnostic eyering gives it away. Olive winged Bulbul has a darker red eyes and no eye ring. Also, habitat wise, the Olive Winged Bulbul is commonly found in mangroves (I should know), and the Spectacled Bulbul is found in forests. 3. Same for the Cream Vented, could be a Spectacled Bulbul - do you have a sideways mugshot to see the eyering? 4. As for the AFB, well is was a chance encounter not skill... Looks like there are many more species in there waiting for us to shoot! Will be back there next week once I clear some work first.

27th December 2003	#3
kendo Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Woodlands, Singapore Posts: 67	Erwinx, good to have you search out and photograph our forest birds. 1) The "drongo" is a Drongo Cuckoo. 2) Agree with your ID of the Cream-vented Bulbul. 3) I believe the last pic is that of the Red-eyed Bulbul, an uncommon resident of the central forests. Olive-winged Bulbuls have some streakes on the sides of the 'face'. 4) Also,the last known status of the Spectacled Bulbul in Singapore is "extinct". Good job!

28th December 2003	#4
erwinx Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,492	thanks for the useful information. My birding ability is not high enough to distinguish olive-winged from red-eyed bulbul... to me, both have red-eye... same for Drongos... all seem black to me Hope to learn more from the experts.