Stunner of a nightjar

 He never fails to delight despite the countless times one can encounter him when he's in the taman, despite the easily hundreds of images one may have of him.

Its' the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus), a gorgeous-looking nocturnal bird, whose night calls 'tok, tok, tok' are unmistakable if one were to walk by the taman at night.  This male is larger than the female who is "paler and greyer on upperparts and breast .. (has) Smaller buff-coloured wing patches. Duller buffy/whitish buff tail patches."

And that morning, he sat in all his glory, open and bold despite the few admirers about him, and from whichever angle, this stunner looks almost majestic.

Birdwatching, no sweat!

 Sometimes it feels like birdwatching is effortless as one walks into a beauty every few metres away, or the beauty simply flies your way.

Even this one came so close I had to back off to get it into frame!

And then this too, although it only allowed its belly view!

And this one was high up but suddenly flew down to eye-level although not as close as the others.

And to top it off, this one didn't budge when I walked up.

As I was passing

A rare occasion when the female Large-tailed Nightjar decided to snooze in the foreground and the male partially hidden but looking pretty alert in the background, watching its back perhaps.

Be like the nightjar

 A stoic put-up was what the slumbering Large-tailed Nightjar did when a troop of large-tailed macaques of at least three generations broke up the quiet noon hours.

It hardly batted an eyelid at the approach of the noisy swinging troop until the very last moment when one was practically above it.

Did it flap angrily, was it flustered, it looked more like a dignified annoyance at the intrusion.

Being no match for the 'manysome', it simply fluttered down to another branch.

Now wide-eyed, it still kept its calm as it watched warily, and we homo sapiens shamelessly took advantage of the situation to get opportune shots of this taman's icon that rarely opens its eyes during the day, trying quietly to manoeuvre round the tiny window in the intertwined lower foliage.

And of course, it had to take time for the leaping and swinging primates to clear through its domain, provoking another protest from the avian.

On the alert as it watched the young and old macaques practically scrambling about left, right, high and low.

Finally some peace and quiet as I checked in an hour later, its amazing composure during the almost 20 minutes of harassment still fresh on my mind.

The now iconic bird of TRK

When I saw this Grand Old Man at his command post, I wanted more, perhaps there're three or more now?  How can we perpetuate their presence here?

We seem to have lost the iconic Oriental Pied Hornbill of the taman, and perhaps its gap could now be filled by this Nightjar.

A couple of days later I saw it again, perched grandly, looking very much at home and unperturbed by the numerous unexpected visitors at the other end of the taman (as I learnt were myriad parties of varied responsibilities there to preside over the fate of the taman). 

With a sense of foreboding I wonder how long can we who care continue to protect those like this family who have made Taman Rimba Kiara home?

I've always wondered whether the new addition was a male or female, and it's male after all, one that's all matured now.

Paying respect to a resident

A walk in the taman feels incomplete without a quick visit to check on this resident.

A cool noon breeze and being rocked gently on the spine of the palm leaf, and this was why this resident Large-tailed Nightjar hardly stirred even as we advanced and withdrew repeatedly close to it, and clicked away.

And a relaxing yawn as it continued to doze on.

And it's See You shortly as we walked off .... wondering if it would keep to this open position if undisturbed when we returned; nope, it has retreated slightly further in, perhaps got too uncomfortable too out front ... and snoozing with slightly open eyelids now,  truly like a grand old man of its domain (as suggested by the large area of white across the throat, and the tell-tale white patch on the primary feathers of which the female's is buff-coloured).

If birds could articulate

 Why not us?

Too common, ubiquitous?  Not given even a second look.

We're brown ones?  That one is also brown but still sought after.

Me?

BK birds by night

 I was absolutely thrilled when Steven Wong aka the Frogman, Bukit Kiara's very own herpetologist made known that he has a collection of birds captured during his night venture and research up and about the hill, I couldn't wait to lay my hands on these images.

And what a stunning collection, birds that we are familiar with by daylight now take on the night hues.

And with all gratitude I happily add these to my record of avian count for the bukit which now exceeds 80 including both local and migrant birds.

And so with special thanks to Steven, I am most delighted to parade these birds as follows:

The nocturnal ones looking truly at home, the time of day or rather night when they are naturally out - the Barred Eagle Owl and Buffy Fish Owl, notwithstanding that these birds have been sighted occasionally during the day by lucky hikers and cyclists.

This Sunda Scops-Owl is definitely a gem of a find, and I've only ever being merely 'lucky' enough to hear and glimpse its presence in the dark too, shortly following Steven's sighting.

A terrific encounter with the Large-tailed Nightjar on two different perches.

Beautiful shots of sub-adult birds like the Common Emerald Dove and Greater Racket-tailed Drongo looking sufficiently relaxed, unperturbed and settled into the night.

Also captured were some migrant birds - Brown Shrike, Green-backed Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and perhaps a Dark-sided Flycatcher. 

And so that's how birds sleep!!

One of the best prized captures must be the Blue-winged Pitta that could be heard in numerous places during the day but has so far eluded my camera despite one being mere feet away (responding to a playback call)!

Once again, my deepest appreciation to Steven for his fantastic collection.  And here's hoping that he keeps them coming!