Malayan Crested Fireback

 Galliformes - Phasianidae - Lophura rufa (Pegar Tatera)

Flamboyant dark pheasant of tropical lowland rainforest, typically in wetter areas. Male is glossy blue-black with a tufted crest, electric blue facial skin, blood-red back and white tail. Female is warm chocolate brown with pale-edged feathers on the underparts. Forages singly or in small groups on the forest floor. Shy but has become habituated in some places. Larger than Malayan Crestless Fireback and Salvadori’s Pheasant with blue rather than red facial skin and red rather than gray legs. Gives guttural “chuckit!” or soft ”weep” calls. Males also give a wing-whirring display.

(eBird)

"I see no more than you but I have trained myself to notice what I see."

Silver-rumped Spinetail

 Apodiformes - Apodidae - Rhaphidura leucopygialis (Layang-layang Ekor-Pendek Melayu)

Small, bullet-shaped swift with rather broad-based wings. Dark (glossy blue in optimal light) with extensive silvery rump patch. Named for thin protrusions from the tail, only sometimes visible at close range. Forages aerially over forest and edge habitat, often near water, sometimes in large numbers and among other swift species. Gives a rapid-fire, chattering trill.

(eBird)

The eyes see what is seen as is seen.

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?