Not just a drongo-like cuckoo

 It thought it could hide, cute, as it flew right across my path into the tree.

So, another regular recorded, the Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris)(Sewah Sawai Biasa) is a pretty obliging one if one does not make any sudden movements, and wait patiently, as this one shows.

What's in a name?
'Sewah' could mean to catch or take something from, or flying low, and this is one bird that preys low, frequently flying down into bushes for grubs; and 'sawai' is a term of honour used in the Indian continent, having its root in the Sanskrit language - so could its distribution accounts for this glorified insert in its name, as it's found in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia and known to summer even in the Himalayas from Kashmir to eastern Bangladesh.

It did try to hide, only to pop up right before me a few minutes later, so close I had to back off.

And an opportune close-up of its beautiful undertail as it took off.

A bird tale

 On a bright but wet morning, what could it be - sibling rivalry, or couple squabble, as this pair of matured-looking Balck-naped Orioles have their play-out, and it's a lengthy one, be warned.

And so trying to make head or tail (pun intended) of this story, from a long shot (pun intended again), [we do owe much to the birds!], I fired off.

Looked like one party's still unhappy, spoiling for an extended face-off?!

When one got bristled off?

It's not over yet, ... till the unhappy one left!

I say, or not, again

 There is a difference, there are differences ....   I can't be jaded, walked by, walked away.

3 different locations, 3 different birds, of the same feathers.

"There are no uninteresting (birds), only uninterested people."

Don't have to be thoroughly excited, a little goes a long way, and so I got hooked, into an ongoing, inevitable 'is it' or 'is it not'.

Another one.

And finally, one more.

And therein are the 'biasa'-looking brown-backs as usual giving away their presence as they sally, momentarily lobbing a 'high' for one who hankers that perhaps it's another, or a rare, until reality perches quietly for a close-up.

 

Be there but not stare

It's not too common to come across a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)(Pipit-Batu Pinggul Kuning) at public park but if there is water, there it'll be drawn, I guess.

And catch it whilst still afar as it simply hates to be zoomed in!  I guess I would too if someone does the same to me!

What's in a name?  
Taking the local name apart, this bird carries the transliteration descriptions of being a ground-dwelling songbird, of stone or rock, and reference to its yellow hip, pelvis or rump, and there you, complete the jigsaw!

And further down, the Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)(Tirjup biasa) behaved similarly.

Walked past it, it cared not a nary.  Stop, and it fled.

What's in a name?
'Tirjub' means to stun, also twisted.  Hmmmm...

Thinking alike

 Whilst I rested, a rather inactive Orange-bellied Flowerpecker did the same.  Heat got to it, too?!

Bulbul presumption

 The productivity of bulbuls in general of the bukit is simply to be celebrated or the hills will be without music!

The Stripe-throated Bulbuls are certainly one of the more spirited and loud bulbuls as they are always calling out to each other at all times of the day.

The addition of these two young siblings would have been taken for granted under any circumstances except to new eyes.

Feeding should fortunately be less tedious when food was simply a hop away, but with two insatiable appetites, it's anything but.

For mere record

 I would have persisted and I would have pursued once upon a time, but  has familiarity bred complacency?  Or put it down to the heat-induced fatigue that effected heavy feet!

I guess it's one for the road for now, till the next closer encounter.

The Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia)(Sambar-Kunyit Kening Putih) made for a solitary forager, silent, a touch-and-go before it teased off.

This re-acquaintance had to suffice for the time being.

What's in a name?
One of the best ways to describe anything must be to simply point out its most outstanding features - white brow, and 'kunyit' colour although strictly speaking, ' kunyit' is turmeric that's bright orangey but assumes yellow when used in cooking.

Almost 'paradise' encounter

 A brown-morph Amur Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone incei)(Murai-Gading Utara), a first winter/sub-adult and possibly female, was only one of a few that came my way as I idled up at the bukit, a healthy number I reckoned that had made their way here to transit.

What's in a name?

I guess adding 'gading' or ivory to a common name like 'murai' or magpie does elevate an avian status.

Always a delightful moment when one ventured down.

And Yes, it's OUR territory.

And Yes again!

One of many successes!

And a pause for for a dust-off.