Admiring the Orioles

I've always maintained that the taman is an excellent place to observe the various development stages of a bird.  It needs some effort to seek out these birds but it could be so worthwhile.  This time I had the Black-naped Oriole as my subject.  It's not like I've not seen the juveniles and the sub-adults before but this is the first time I have crossed path with a newly-fledged juvenile as it literally flew in and perched right where I was standing.
And I couldn't have enough of it because it truly looked gorgeous with its striking yellow and black streaks.

This incident prompted me to review my stock of images of the Orioles caught at different development stages to adulthood.

This one really looked aged.

So the next question is: how does this brilliant yellow help the bird?  Would the colour not make the bird an easy target for predators?
An extract from the Malaysian Naturalist Vol 69-2 Dec 2015 provided the perfect answer:
"... they were canopy dwellers.  Canopy dwellers tended to be colourful because "as they dart amongst the flashes of light and shade in the dense foliage, the colours act as camouflage".
Also, another possible answer is that "socail birds can look out for each other and can warn others about predators, so they too can afford to be more colourful".

A typical Tailorbird

It has been sometime since I came across the Ashy Tailorbird, and on this occasion, it was really one of a real close encounter.

When I chased the bird to and under the trees, I was pleasantly surprised that it did not flee.  As typical of a Tailorbird, it was simply too hyper-active for ideal shots.  Nevertheless it was so heartening to know that this tiny bird is still around.

Parenting morning

It was an unusual morning to encounter more than one parenting moment, especially with the Long-tailed Macaques that are now infrequently seen in the taman.
It was molly-coddling, playful moment for the adult and child.

So absorbed in watching the Macaques, I almost missed another pair, an adult White-breasted (change of name from White-throated) Kingfisher and its young, which looked like feeding by the former.

And further along the path, another unexpected feeding time which looked like it involved the entire family of Yellow-vented Bulbuls.
This adult was seen with its young until another adult flew in unexpectedly, starting a feeding frenzy, or sharing!

A Honey-buzzard alost?

When I heard sudden shrieks and cries among the common birds, I guessed that there could be a winged 'intruder' around.  But standing where I was, stupefied with the sudden and shocking appearance of the Common Kingfisher, and which subsequently gave me the most memorable display of scouring for fish, with its intense flapping of wings as it circulated the pond at lightning speed whilst scanning the water (that I even forgot about photographing it!), that I just ignored the din and commotion.  
Then suddenly, I saw an Oriental Honey-buzzard fly right across where I was standing, in hot pursuit by a flock of Mynas and Oriental Magpie Robins!
Fortunately for me the Honey-buzzard appeared again when I was down by the river hoping for another sighting of the Kingfisher (alas, in vain).  Then only did I realise why this big one was being pursued by the smaller ones.  It's a young bird that must have strayed from its flock, and it did look lost.  Unfortunately, this was the one and only sighting as it did not appear again.

My "Amore"

My latest encounter with the Amur Paradise Flycatcher in Bukit Kiara must be the most satisfying todate, simply because this one provided ample photo opportunities when it flew in, in a bird wave but decided to tarry to preen.
Nevertheless, as always a birder is never satisfied unless the bird is viewed from all angles!  Ahhh!!

Perhaps migrant Heron

I would assume this was a Chinese Pond Heron, simply because previous similar sightings of this Pond Heron had turned out to be so when this bird assumed breeding plumage.  So I believe that only the CPH visits the taman, and this one could also be a migrant; these herons normally frequent wetlands like marshes and open fields.  Anyway this particular bird seems only interested in foraging in the ground, and being successful too.
I waited for it to fish as it was by the pond but not once did it try its luck in the water.  And it looked like it had heightened sense of human presence that the entire time I watched it, it hardly moved.  Still it was most fortunate that I managed to sight it as it was truly so into the grassy background.

A couple of days later it was still around, again foraging away from the pond.

Barbet's privacy moment

It's entertaining to watch this Lineated Barbet in action, not at its best though!

A birder actually loves it when he or she stumbles upon a preening bird.  It's opportune occasion to get some amusing images of the unsuspecting bird.  Nevertheless, images of the Lineated Barbet are generally not too easy to capture if the bird perches in dense foliage, and distance further works against these views.