Long-tailed Parakeet

 Psittaciformes - Psittaculidae - Psittacula longicauda (Bayan Melayu)

Medium-sized green parakeet with red cheeks and black stripes above the eye and below the cheek. Male is brighter-colored than the female, which has less extensive red on the cheeks and a black instead of red bill. Like other forest parakeets, usually encountered shooting past overhead while screaming raucously. Long filamentous tail feathers not always present.

(eBird)

"It's more than seeing them, it's tuning in on them and allowing the current they hold to connect with one's own, like electricity.  To put it differently, this means an end of living in front of things and a beginning of living with them.  Never mind if the word sounds shocking, for this is love."

Superb Starling

 Passeriformes - Sturnidae -Lamprotornis suberpus (Burung Perling)

A chunky, short-tailed, colorful savanna starling. Note the white chest band, white undertail, and white patch on the underwing, conspicuous in flight. Immatures have a dark eye and lack a breast band, but are usually associated with adults. Found in a variety of dry or moderately moist habitats including savanna, woodland, thorn scrub, and villages, usually in small flocks, sometimes with other species of starlings. Similar to Hildebrandt’s and Shelley’s Starlings, but easily separated by the white breast band. The calls include a variety of scolds and squeals.

(eBird)

"What can I do to always remember who I really am?"

Blue-eared Kingfisher

 Coraciiformes - Alcenididae - Alcedo meninting (Pekaka Bintik-bintik)

A diminutive dark blue kingfisher with no rufous on the ear-patch. It has an orange spot in front of the eye, white ear tufts on the sides of the neck, and an ultramarine-blue head and neck with darker blue bands giving it a scaly appearance. Upperparts glossy dark blue with paler blue central band down the back to the rump. White chin and throat with deep orange underparts. Males have black bill with brownish-red base, while females have almost entirely red bill. Juvenile also has dark blue upperparts, but has rufous cheeks and ear-coverts similar to Common Kingfisher. Inhabits well-shaded waterways in forested areas.

(eBird)

"If you want to be truly understood, you need to say everything three times, in three different ways.  One for each ear ... and once for the heart."

Barn Swallow

Passeriformes - Hirundinidae - Hirdundo rustica (Layang-layang Hijrah)

A fairly large, colorful swallow. Usually easy to identify with its long, forked tail and dark rump. Iridescent navy-blue above with a rich orange throat and forehead. Underparts vary across range, from bright buffy-orange to whitish. Occurs in any open habitat, especially large fields and wetlands. Often seen foraging in flocks, sometimes mixed with other species of swallow. Typically nests close to human habitation; builds a muddy cup nest in a barn or under a dock. Listen for dry, scratchy “svit svit” calls. Note head and breast pattern and tail length to help separate from various similar species in Africa, Asia, and Australia (e.g., Welcome Swallow, Angolan Swallow, Pacific Swallow).

(eBird)

"The more spacious and larger our fundamental nature, the more bearable the pains in living."

Chestnut-winged Cuckoo

 Cuculiformes - Cuculidae - Clamator coromandus (Sewah Berjambul Sayab Merah)

A distinctive, long-tailed cuckoo with a peaked black crest like a witch's hat, bright orange throat, rusty wings, a black back, and white nape and belly. Forages and sings high in dense canopy; seldom seen well enough for all these traits to be seen at once. Varied vocalizations are harsh, raspy, or metallic sounding and include high-pitched “veep-veep” notes, a strident “kooree”, and a maniacal rattling cackle.

(eBird)

"Seeing into darkness is clarity ...."

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

Passeriformes - Muscicapidae - Ficedula zanthopygia (Sambar Pinggul Kuning)

Gaudy male striking, with yolk-yellow underparts and rump and black upperparts set off by white supercilium and wing patch. Female less brightly colored but still distinctive, with brown upperparts, a smaller yellow rump and white wing patch, and whitish underparts with faint scaling on the breast. Breeds in broadleaf and mixed forests, especially groves in riparian areas. Can be encountered in a wide range of wooded areas outside of the breeding season, from coastal scrub to pristine hill forests. Song is a short, thrush-like series of burry whistles.

(eBird)

 

"Love and do what thou wilt."

Siberian Blue Robin

 Passeriformes - Muscicapidae - Larvivora cyane (Murai Biru Siberia)

A slender, long-legged songbird with a “crouched” profile. Adult male is unmistakable, with blue upperparts and snow-white belly separated by black running from the eye to the bend of the wing. Female warm brown with blue-tinted rump and whitish underparts. Juvenile resembles female but grayer above. Like most other robins, shy and retiring, inhabiting forested areas with dense undergrowth; on its breeding grounds, most easily detected by its song, an explosive “tsi-tsi-TEWEE-TEWEE.”

(eBird)

"No matter how dark, the hand always knows the way to the mouth."