Gray-and-buff Woodpecker

 Piciformes - Picidae - Hemicircus concretus (Belatuk-Daun Dahi Merah)

Small stout woodpecker with an oversized crested head and black-and-white scaling on the back. Males have a brilliant red front to the crest that females lack. Agile and active, frequently foraging in the upper canopy or on exposed snags. Crawls along trunks, sometimes descending headfirst like a nuthatch. Found in lowland and hill forests. Gives high-pitched squeaks, descending “peer” notes, and rattles.

(eBird)

Small, almost tiny

Unceasing squeaks.

Too tantalising

Knowingly futile

yet irresistible

Appeasing the heart

not the mind.

Gold-whiskered Barbet

Piciformes - Megalaimidae - Psilopogon chrysopogon (Takur Jambang Emas)

Bright yellow cheek stands out like a sunburst on the muddy-looking face of this barbet. Traces of red and blue also brighten the head of this heavy-billed green bird. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests. Like many other barbets, forages sluggishly high up in the forest canopy, and can be difficult to see; listen instead for its song, a series of echoing rhythmic “woo-ooh” notes, sometimes combined with trilled hoots.

(eBird)

Distinctive

Unmistakable

Stout and proud.

When desire over-rides

what's sacrificed?

Spectacled Spiderhunter

 Passeriformes - Nectarinidae - Arachnothera flavigaster (Kelicap-sabit Besar)

Large spiderhunter with thick yellow eyerings, a yellow ear tuft, and a long decurved bill. Yellow eyering and cheek splotch serve to distinguish it from most other spiderhunters. Yellow-eared Spiderhunter is very similar but noticeably smaller, with a narrower eyering, faint streaking on the breast (versus plain), and a slightly longer, more slender bill. Found in lowland and foothill forests, where it forages actively in the upper levels. Calls include harsh chip notes.

(eBird)

How big the eyes

How harsh the call

How yet so endearing.

Lost and found

again and again

Sheer luck 

for a little more gotten too.

Black Eagle

 Accipitriformes - Accipitridae - Ictinaetus malaiensis (Helang Hitam Asia)

Large and distinctive dark eagle of forested mountains and hills. Adults appear all dark from a distance, but closer inspection reveals pale barring on the primaries, secondaries, and undertail, as well as a bright yellow bill and feet. Readily separated from other large birds of prey in range by structure as well as coloration; Black Eagles have broad wings with distinct “fingers”(emarginated primaries) in the tip, as well as a long tail that is fan-shaped when open and slightly wedge-shaped when closed.

(eBird)

Soaring, circling
as if all matters is itself.

Too far, too dark

yet unable to ignore

simply too majestic

even from a distance.

Silver-eared Mesia

 Passeriformes - Leiothrichidae - Leiothrix argentauris (Mesia Telinga Perak)

Beautiful small babbler with a black head, bright silver ear, orange underparts, and a bright red wing patch. Travels in noisy flocks through hill and submontane forest, sometimes in single-species groups and occasionally with other species. Unfortunately a common target of the cage bird trade, and escapees are often seen outside of their native range; in some areas, such as Hong Kong, they have even established self-sustaining populations. Warbled song often given as birds move around in flocks.

(eBird)

A nosy dazzler

Always a feast for the eyes

Asks to be admired

But unself-conscious

How does it do it?

Sunda Cuckoo

Cuculiformes - Cuculidae - Cuculus lepidus (Sewah Gunung Melayu)

Typical Cuculus cuckoo: most adults are gray with black stripes on a white breast and belly, but some females are “hepatic”; they appear rufous overall with extensive barring. Virtually identical to Himalayan and Oriental cuckoos, which migrate through and winter in Sunda’s range; look for Sunda’s more contrasting darker gray upperparts, wider bars on the underparts, and buffier unmarked vent. Juvenile is dark grayish black above with white edging to the feathers. Like most cuckoos, more often heard than seen; listen for its 2–3 note hooting song, which averages higher than that of Oriental. A species of montane and foothill forest.

More heard than seen

typical, similar

words that strike

yet uncommon.

Flash after flash

patience tested

by avian, by human

patience won

as Patience stays true.

Dusky Eagle-owl

Strigiformes - Strigidae - Ketupa coromanda (Burung-Hantu Bertanduk Kelabu Asia)

A very large, grayish-brown owl with yellow eyes and distinctive ears. Note the fine barring and dark streaks on the pale underparts, and white patches on the shoulders. In flight, wings and tail are strongly barred below. Perches in tall trees, usually near a water body, where it waits for birds and mammals to pounce upon. The call is a distinctive series of low, guttural notes that increase in volume and speed before trailing off towards the end.

In flight, in call, in silence

awesome, most awesome.

Stepping back, involuntarily

an unnatural shudder

One I could have reached, grasped perhaps

one smaller yet more awe-inspiring.