This should be the Common Kingfisher (I combined two photographs into one), though I'm not fully sure if it's the Common KF or the Blue-eared KF cos they look very alike, noting the fact that the Blue-eared KF is the forest equivalent of the Common KF.I'm having so much trouble because there's a forested area near the canal, so I'm not too sure which species it might be, and also because the colours look really similar on the computer screen (look at photo references)
Quoted from Wikipedia, "The Blue-eared Kingfisher is distinguished from the Common Kingfisher by blue ear coverts, darker and more intense cobalt-blue upperparts with richer rufous under parts."
(Photo ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blue-eared_Kingfisher.JPG and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Common_Kingfisher-_different_races.jpg)
The Malayan Monitor Lizard eating its meal... what can it be?
It turns out, it's a fish fresh out of the waters of the canal.
A dead bird, perhaps a pigeon? It looked like it fell and crashed right into the grassy patch ): Quite sad.
Not sure what this is, but it might be a growth from the tree or a bird egg that fell from its nest, I can't be totally sure! Haha.
Last but not least, the male Common Goldenbacked Woodpecker. Pretty colours.
Saw some other birds as well, like the collared KF, white-throated KF and little egret, and the usual bunch of egrets. I think there was a plover as well, plus another bird that I can't ID - but it had a long beak with stripes running down till its belly.
Happy CNY to everyone!
6 comments:
I like the shots of the Monitor chowing on a fish!
I snapped a few woodpecker shots yesterday:
http://joec66.blogspot.com/2009/01/loxahatchee-national-wildlife-refuge.html
haha thank you!
your woodpecker shots are pretty cool too! wow, it's nice to see woodpeckers from other countries too
That's a pretty good shot of a monitor chowing down a pretty huge tilapia! I wonder if you were at the volunteers workshop regarding about fishes the other day..cheers
TY Tan
hi ty
sorry for the late reply! it has been a long time since i blogged here.
i wasn't at the fish workshop (by november right?) thanks for the ID of the fish though. :) it must have been quite a large tilapia, cos i thought tilapias were rather small.
If I had to choose between the Common Kingfisher (CK) and the Blue-eared Kingfisher (BK), I would pick the former.
And yeap, as also cited by WIki, BK has blue ear-coverts (= the part slightly beneath the eyes). On the other hand, CK has rufous (= orange-y reddish) ones. =)
However, according to 'A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia' by Craig Robinson, juvenile BK also has rufous ear-coverts but then its beaks will be the tell-tale clue, as young BKs have reddish bills).
Hope it helps. ^^v
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