Verditer Flycatcher

 Paaseriformes - Muscicapidae - Eumyias thalassinus (Sambar Verditer)

Beautifully vivid turquoise-blue flycatcher. Adult male has dark lores. Juvenile is duller, with noticeably grayer underparts. Sits upright on exposed perches. Found in lowland and hill forests and forest edges. Song is high and undulating phrase of burry or trilled notes. Most common call is a strident “wheet!”

(eBird)

Be not led by what is seen for light plays tricks.

Malayan Black Magpie

 Passeriformes - Corvidae - Platysmurus leucopterus (Burung Temenggang)

Glossy black bird with a long tail, a heavy hooked bill, and a weak tuft of a crest. Also note the bright white stripe on the wing. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests. Moves in pairs and flocks, calling to keep in contact. Sometimes moves with mixed-species flocks. Quite vocal, giving a range of odd calls, including raucous and vibrant chatters given in series of varying speed, as well as hoarse rasping notes. Formerly grouped with Bornean Black Magpie under the more generic “Black Magpie.”

(eBird)

How the eyes may easily forget but reconnect as emotion recalls.

Sunda Brush Cuckoo

 Cuculiformes - Cuculidae - Cacomantis sepulcralis (Mantinak Dada Jingga Biasa)

A medium-sized cuckoo, with a warm buff colored throat, chest, and belly. Gray eyering and heavily barred tail. Some females are quite different, a rich reddish brown with heavy black barring. Similar Plaintive Cuckoo is generally paler, with a contrasting gray hood. Most frequently encountered by its incessantly given song, an even series of high-pitched clear whistles that are slightly upslurred.

We see differently, and we fear differently, all the more sorrowful.

Dark-necked Tailorbird

 Passeriformes - Cisticolidae - Orthotomus atrogularis (Perenjak Leher Hitam)

A brightly-colored tailorbird of lowland tropical forests, forest edges, and gardens. Long-billed with olive upperparts, pale underparts, and a rufous crown. Dark neck patch is only present in males and is unique if seen well but is sometimes concealed and difficult to see. Can be a shy species, staying deep within tangled vegetation; listen for its song, often given in duets, a series of trilled phrases. Also gives a high-pitched nasal “daydayday.” Common Tailorbird is similar but has a less extensive rufous crown and lacks yellow vent and black neck patch.

(eBird)

Craft the eyes and ears when sighting misleads.

Abbott's Babbler

 Passeriformes - Pellorneidae - Malacocincla abbotti (Kekicau-Belukar Biasa)

Plain, sandy-brown babbler with distinct orange-tan tones to the sides. Note grayish tones to the face and the large heavy bill with a hooked tip. Prefers degraded and secondary forest, where it forages quite slowly and methodically on or near the ground, without the frenetic energy of some other babblers. Moves singly or in pairs. Call repertoire is wide, and includes harsh churrs as well as smooth whistles. Song consists of melodic whistles, usually 3-4 notes.

(eBird)

When the eyes turn away, turn not away the intent.

Ruby-cheeked Sunbird

 Passeriformes - Nectariniidae - Chalcoparia singalensis (Kelicap Pipi Merah)

Tiny sunbird with a short sharp bill. Male’s metallic green upperparts, wine-red cheeks, and bright orange throat and chest are unmistakable. Female is less distinctive, but note her size, bill shape, and bright orange throat. Found in forest, forest edge, and gardens from lowlands up into hilly areas, typically foraging actively in upper levels of trees. High thin song variable, but usually incorporates whistles and twitters.

(eBird)

When it's feast for the eyes, feast for the soul, all's well again.

17/03/2026

Lesser Cuckooshrike

 Passeriformes - Campephagidae - Lalage fimbriata (Selancang-Kelabu Melayu)

Medium-sized gray bird (small for a cuckooshrike) with considerable geographic variation. Male averages darkest on the wings, throat, and breast, contrasting more heavily with the rest of the plumage than in the fairly uniform-looking male Indochinese Cuckooshrike. Female is pale gray with fine barring on the underparts. Undertail is black with white-tipped feathers concentrated at the end of the tail; does not appear as evenly graduated as in the larger Black-winged Cuckooshrike, and is less extensively white-tailed than Indochinese Cuckooshrike. Forages in the upper levels of forests and forest edge in lowland and hilly areas, often as part of mixed-species flocks. Song begins with a few clear tinkling notes, then transitions into a loud, insistent “jeh, jeh, jeh, jeh”.

(eBird)

See, and miss, a pity; see, and dismiss, more the pity when truth reveals.