Common Redshank

Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae - Tringa totanus (Kedidi Kaki Merah Biasa) 

Stocky brown wader with bright red legs; compare with slenderer, far more gracile Spotted Redshank in juvenile and non-breeding plumage. Often rather wary, alerting other birds with its loud, fluty, whistled calls. Bobs tail when nervous, and then flies to show flashy white trailing edge to wings, white rump patch. Feeds in muddy shallows, probing and picking with its bill. Inhabits fresh and coastal wetlands; also breeds on moorland, usually near water.

(eBird)

When seeing red is not danger but delight.

Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker

Piciformes - Picidae - Yungipicus molucsensis (Belatuk-Belacan Kecil Biasa)

Small plain woodpecker of wooded areas from primary rainforest to parklands and forest edges. Brownish overall with a white-striped head, a spotted back, and pale gray streaks on a buffy breast. Male has a small red speck near the back of the crown. Similar Gray-capped Woodpecker is black-and-white, with a less cleanly striped head, cleaner underparts, and unevenly distributed pale spotting on the back and wings. Sunda’s call is a high-pitched rattling trill.

(eBird)

Do you see what I see, perhaps it takes silence.

 

Terns

 Charadriiformes - Laridae - Chlidonias hybrida (Camar Bermisai)

Small buoyant tern. Breeding adult has distinctive dark smoky gray body and contrasting white cheeks (can look like broad white "whiskers" in flight) underneath a black cap. Nonbreeding plumage pale silvery gray overall with a faded shadow of the cap; juvenile has dark-checkered back. Note rather stout bill (albeit thinner than Gull-billed Tern) and square tail; compare to Common, Roseate, and Arctic Terns. Feeds by picking from surface, not splash-diving like typical terns. Common around wetlands, lakes, and rivers.

(eBird)

Whiskered tern (l) Gull-billed tern (r)

Charadriiformes - Laridae - Gelochelidon nilotica (Camar Tiram) 

Medium-sized tern with thick black bill. Very pale overall with black cap in breeding plumage. Legs black. Nonbreeding plumage shows dark cheek patch. Found in marshier habitats than most other terns, in the Americas usually near the coast but not on the ocean (though also occasionally seen on beaches and mudflats); in Europe and Asia can also be found in wetlands well away from the coast. Rarely seen in flocks with other terns; often single or in pairs. Feeds on invertebrates and crabs in mud and marshes; often patrols the edges of ponds but does not grab fish from the water like other terns.

(eBird)

Gull-billed terns

Gull-billed terns and Whiskered terns

I see to connect, and disconnect, to remain focused.

Orange-backed Woodpecker

 Piciformes - Picidae - Chrysocolaptes validus (Belatuk Dada Merah)

Dressed all in patchwork, this crested woodpecker is brightly colored and unmistakable; no other large crested woodpecker in its range has wingbars. Male has a faded reddish crest, an orange breast, and a whitish back with a warm buffy tinge. Female has a brown head and breast and a whiter back. Calls are sharp and strident, and can be given singly or, more commonly, as part of prolonged series in which pairs of notes are squished together to produce a squeaky-toy sound: “pee-pee-pee-peeyit-pee-pee-pee-peeyit!” Found in forests from lowlands up into hilly and montane areas.

(eBird)

Not much required, really, merely colours, colours for dull eyes.

Tibetan Sand-Plover

Charadriiformes - Charadriidae - Anarhynchus atrifrons (Rapang-Sisir Kecil Biasa)

Medium-sized plover with a pale throat, brown back, and white belly. Breeding adults have a black mask and a bright orange chest and neck; males average brighter than females. Non-breeding and immature birds are brownish above and white below, with a variable white forehead and eyebrow. Compare with slightly larger Greater Sand-Plover; Tibetan is proportionally smaller-headed and darker-legged, and its shorter bill has a slight bulge at the tip. Smaller Kentish Plover can be similar in non-breeding plumage; Tibetan is taller and longer-legged, without Kentish’s strong white neck band. Very difficult to distinguish from Siberian Sand-Plover, especially nonbreeding and immature birds, though identification can often be presumed by range. In breeding plumage, note the more extensive black mask of Tibetan, typically lacking the white spot on the forehead of Siberian. In nonbreeding plumage, look for a generally broken breast band and clean white flanks in Tibetan. In areas of overlap many birds best left unidentified. Breeds on margins of high-elevation lakes and rivers in China and Mongolia; winters on coastal mudflats, beaches, and inland lakes from Africa to Indonesia.

(eBird)

Eyes play tricks and truths hurt, sometimes.

 

Crested Goshawk

 Accipitriformes - Accipitridae - Lophospiza trivirgata (Helang-Sewah Besar Berjambul)

Powerfully built hawk of forests, especially hilly woods. Namesake crest is usually held low and not very visible. Adult has a gray head, brown wings, whitish underparts with thick orange-brown stripes in belly and streaks in breast, and white throat with black borders. Juvenile similar but with brown head, sparingly marked underparts, and very short crest. Appears stockier and relatively shorter-tailed in flight than other accipiters. Flying adults may also show a fluffy white clump of feathers on both sides of the tail.

(ebird)

See but differently, both meant to be free in different ways.