Briggsy 17,907 #1051 Posted January 26 So, not strictly in my garden (I am in a condo). I found lots of feathers together in Khao Khieow forest, typical of evidence of a raptor, probably an accipiter, having devoured some prey. I took 4 of the feathers as they were distinctive but I couldn't be sure what bird had the misfortune to be eaten. The 2 feathers on the left look like they come from the body or the wing. I suspect the 2 on the right are tail feathers. The feather on the far left is 19 cm from the base of the shaft to the tip, i.e. the full length. All the feathers on the scene, except the tail feathers, had this grey-brown and white barring to some extent. There were no other colours. The tail feathers have wider barring in dark brown and lighter brown. Any idea what bird was killed. I can only think of a hawk-cuckoo but it is not really common there. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jak2002003 3,826 #1052 Posted January 27 21 hours ago, Briggsy said: So, not strictly in my garden (I am in a condo). I found lots of feathers together in Khao Khieow forest, typical of evidence of a raptor, probably an accipiter, having devoured some prey. I took 4 of the feathers as they were distinctive but I couldn't be sure what bird had the misfortune to be eaten. The 2 feathers on the left look like they come from the body or the wing. I suspect the 2 on the right are tail feathers. The feather on the far left is 19 cm from the base of the shaft to the tip, i.e. the full length. All the feathers on the scene, except the tail feathers, had this grey-brown and white barring to some extent. There were no other colours. The tail feathers have wider barring in dark brown and lighter brown. Any idea what bird was killed. I can only think of a hawk-cuckoo but it is not really common there. My guess is a female or young Asian koel. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Briggsy 17,907 #1053 Posted January 27 That would be more likely and also follow the cuckoo family theme. I tend to think of female / juvenile koels as spotted but, of course, that is an overall picture made up of many feathers. So, individual feathers would appear barred rather than spotted. This probably explains my confusion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1054 Posted January 30 So after nearly 2 weeks at the new patch in Nong Prue, Kanchanaburi...45 is the current yard list total. Best birds were, of course, the 7 lifers. Also got another lifer about 2km down the soi...Little Ringed Plover...sadly not on the yard list (yet), but nice addition to the Thailand list (last pic below). Green-billed Malkoha (pic #1) Purple Heron Red-wattled Lapwing (#2) Black-headed Bulbul Ashy Woodswallow (#3 & 4) Red-rumped Swallow Richard's or Paddyfield Pipit (possibly both. more on these and pix in a future post) 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1055 Posted January 31 So after infinitely more Pipit research than ever thought I'd possibly find interest...am still pretty much where I started! Actually, just kidding...sort of. I now know a lot MORE than I ever imagined would about Richard's Pipit and Paddyfield Pipit, but still not certain about separating the 2 in areas where they overlap...which is the case in Kanchanaburi in winter. Separating visually may not be possible. The main reason is that Paddyfield Pipit and Richard's were originally lumped together with and considered subspecies of the Australasian Pipit. They were split along the way into separate species. Supposedly, Richard's is slightly larger and has minor plumage differences from Paddyfield, in the proverbial nutshell. However, Birds of Singapore and some other reference sites claim that the 2 can only be confidently distinguished by call notes. For those still awake, here's a few snaps from the patch of what appears to be a larger pipit with long bill and tail on the ground...and a smaller pipit with shorter bill and tail on the wire. Of course, posture and lighting surely come into play. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1056 Posted January 31 (edited) Looking again (and again) at the Pipit pix I posted above, seems the 3rd pic is of a different bird than the top 2. Noticed that the bird in the top 2 pix has dark lores, while the bird in the 3rd has light colored lores. There actually were 2 pipits in the yard at that time. 2 sources makes mention of the lores saying that Paddyfield generally has darker lores, while Richard's usually or always light...but it is not diagnostic. P. Round in "Birds of the Bangkok Area" gives the best comparison. Also this article for anyone interested. https://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/identification-of-paddyfield-richards-and-blyths-pipits-in-malaysia/ Edited January 31 by Skeptic7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1057 Posted February 8 Great Backyard Bird Count next weekend, Feb 15-18: https://www.audubon.org/news/how-take-part-great-backyard-bird-count?ms=digital-eng-social-facebook-x-20190200_fb_link&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20190200_fb_link&fbclid=IwAR3hg_Gwp-mmxsQdI4_c_aIOcqxPZ6qUI8b2IBk-_DV4xn-BwuR_1Sr8GbY 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1058 Posted February 8 On 1/31/2019 at 9:09 PM, Skeptic7 said: Looking again (and again) at the Pipit pix I posted above, seems the 3rd pic is of a different bird than the top 2. Noticed that the bird in the top 2 pix has dark lores, while the bird in the 3rd has light colored lores. There actually were 2 pipits in the yard at that time. 2 sources makes mention of the lores saying that Paddyfield generally has darker lores, while Richard's usually or always light...but it is not diagnostic. P. Round in "Birds of the Bangkok Area" gives the best comparison. Also this article for anyone interested. https://digdeep1962.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/identification-of-paddyfield-richards-and-blyths-pipits-in-malaysia/ Pretty certain that third bird is one of the Bushlarks. I used to be good at separating Richard's from Paddyfield, or I thought I was anyway, as I often had them right next to each other and there were things I knew - but can't recall offhand - about size and stance and such like. That was when i was in Surin and saw them all the time. Here in Chonburi I only see them when i go out to certain areas and don't pay all that much attention. Likewise, I was good at the Bushlarks (and the Skylark) but mostly on behavior and call. You won't often see Paddyfield or Richard's on wires, though, or really anywhere but on the ground. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1059 Posted February 8 On 1/20/2019 at 1:40 PM, tutsiwarrior said: saw a bright yellow little guy out on the front terrace this morning that I hadn't seen before...is there more migration in these parts (central Thailand) during the cold weather than other times of the year? In a very general sense, winter visitors mostly arrive around September and depart around April. Of course many species fall outside that range. Little, yellow and eating bananas on the ground could be Oriental White-eye, depending where you live. Other small yellow birds would include some of the sunbirds - which can appear yellow - or the Common Iora, but these would likely be in trees and not on the ground. Google those possibilities and you may find your bird. Those are all residents, not winter visitors. See if you can get a photo. Even a fuzzy jpeg from a phone s often enough for a positive ID. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1060 Posted February 8 Yard visitors this morning. Red-breasted Parakeet and Common Iora. Thus far this year, no new additions to the yard list. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1061 Posted February 8 3 hours ago, AjarnNorth said: Pretty certain that third bird is one of the Bushlarks. I used to be good at separating Richard's from Paddyfield, or I thought I was anyway, as I often had them right next to each other and there were things I knew - but can't recall offhand - about size and stance and such like. That was when i was in Surin and saw them all the time. Here in Chonburi I only see them when i go out to certain areas and don't pay all that much attention. Likewise, I was good at the Bushlarks (and the Skylark) but mostly on behavior and call. You won't often see Paddyfield or Richard's on wires, though, or really anywhere but on the ground. Sold! Great call on the Bushlark. Patch list up to 46...thanks! Thought it rather odd a Pipit on a wire, but outside of BKK and still far removed from my comfort zone. Now which one? Pretty sure it's a Singing Bushlark (Australasian), as wings and tail don't appear rufous enough...AND does appear that outer tail feathers show some white, which both Round and Robson say is diagnostic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1062 Posted February 8 4 hours ago, AjarnNorth said: Great Backyard Bird Count next weekend, Feb 15-18: https://www.audubon.org/news/how-take-part-great-backyard-bird-count?ms=digital-eng-social-facebook-x-20190200_fb_link&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=20190200_fb_link&fbclid=IwAR3hg_Gwp-mmxsQdI4_c_aIOcqxPZ6qUI8b2IBk-_DV4xn-BwuR_1Sr8GbY This sux! Leaving the Kingdom on the 15th for a few weeks. Would have been camped out on my BKK lanai all weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1063 Posted February 8 18 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said: This sux! Leaving the Kingdom on the 15th for a few weeks. Would have been camped out on my BKK lanai all weekend. I will be working on and off so can't do the whole weekend, but will do as much as I can. Why not do it from wherever you are going? They also encourage folks to have a look around beyond their yards, though I do like the excuse to sit around and give my yard area a real good look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AjarnNorth 699 #1064 Posted February 8 25 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said: Sold! Great call on the Bushlark. Patch list up to 46...thanks! Thought it rather odd a Pipit on a wire, but outside of BKK and still far removed from my comfort zone. Now which one? Pretty sure it's a Singing Bushlark (Australasian), as wings and tail don't appear rufous enough...AND does appear that outer tail feathers show some white, which both Round and Robson say is diagnostic. I also had it as probable Australasian. A bit hard to tell from the pics, but I would tick it as that. Likely you'll get both there eventually anyway. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skeptic7 3,449 #1065 Posted February 8 1 hour ago, AjarnNorth said: I also had it as probable Australasian. A bit hard to tell from the pics, but I would tick it as that. Likely you'll get both there eventually anyway. Now about the other sp...Rufous-winged. The 2 field guides differ on not only common name, which is not uncommon, but the scientific name, as well...which means SPLITS and subspecies, of which there are many. TMI, but seems there is no longer a Rufous-winged (only Australasian and sub sp) and Singing and it's 4 sub sp does not include Indochinese, which is a single sp. TMI...I know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites