ORIENTAL PIED-HORNBILL

 

A male Oriental pied-hornbill sitting on a large rain tree near some housing estate.

   The Oriental pied-hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) is a rather common hornbill in Malaysia. It can be easily seen around jungle fringes near urban dwellings.

Food consisting of figs, fruits, small reptiles and birds are their main diets. Here a male regurgitated a fig and gently holds it in its bill.

   They like large trees where they build nest in holes in the tree branches. The male will bring mud cakes to the female who will then seal herself inside to lay her eggs and incubate them. Food in the form of figs, fruits, small insects, reptiles and small birds are brought back by the male to feed its mate.

A male hornbill gently feed its mate as she incubates her eggs in her sealed nest.

   I have seen these hornbills built their nests in the bird houses built for owls around the rice fields.

A few fruits that are part of the hornbill diet.

Here a pair of hornbills has colonised an owl shelter for their nests.

GREY-HEADED SWAMPHEN (Porphyrio poliocephalus).

They like to stretch their wings once in a while.

 
   Grey-headed swamphen: Mainly found around large ponds or marshy areas. It usually is found in one or two feeding on weed covered ponds or the banks. Its nest is a pile of weeds built on floating weeds like the water hyacinth. When alarmed it will hide itself in the weeds.
   It mainly feed on plant and vegetation with small insects, leeches, snails and other small animals.

MAEKLONG RAILWAY MARKET

THE MAEKLONG RAILWAY MARKET (Thailand)

The Maeklong Railway Market is also nicknamed Umbrella Pull down Market. The unique feature about his market is, it is centered around the railway track. Selling fresh seafood and vegetables, the vendors here are very alert to the arrival of the train. Each day a train will pass this place eight times. With the coming of the train, a signal will sound and an announcement will be make about the impending train arrival. Suddenly this canvas covered market will find the awnings being pulled back and the products on sale being pulled to safer place. Immediately after the train pass, the canopies are back on and business will be as usual.

A must see on your tour to Bangkok.

A young vendor selling some fresh clams.

Small eels for sale.

Plenty of cooked salted fish here too.

Scaled and cleaned fish.

A vendor pushing his cart along the track.

A flurry of activities following the announcement of the incoming train.

The canopies are being pulled back. Trays of products are also taken out of the way.

Here it comes. Right on time. A lady vendor was screaming at me in Thai (which I cannot understand). I think she wants me to get out of the way of the train.

The train passed just centimeters away from me. I was pulled back by the same lady that was screaming at me, I think. I am grateful to her for her concern.

Everyone is emerging from their safe spots. The canopies are also being put bck to their normal places.

RAPTORS - Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba).

Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba). It is the most widely distributed owl in the world. Because of its diet of small rodents it is widely used as the biological agent to control the rat population in padi fields and oil palm plantations. It is not uncommon to see small owl houses perched on top of high poles among the padi fields and plantations.

RAPTORS - Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus).

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) is a medium size raptor found in India, South China, S.E.Asia and Australia. Usually found living and breeding in mangrove forests along the coasts. It can also be found further inland , like padi fields, ex-mining lands and wetland areas. Their food consist of fish and other small prey. Scavenging is also part of their daily activities.

A Juvenile.

Terns of Malaysia.

Terns are a type of sea or water birds of the family Sternidae. Many are migrants that travel long distances. They have slender bodies and pointed wings. The tails are mostly forked. thus many of them dive into the water to get their food fish. Some will hover above to pick up small food fish when they come to the surface. other will feed on insects too. They are generally long life birds that can live up to and in excess of 25-30 years.

In Malaysia there are 17 species which I will add here as and when I get to photograph them.

A) LITTLE TERN (Sternula albifrons). Small tern with forked tail. Breeding birds have black crown, nape and eye stripe and yellow bill while non breeding have white crown, black legs and bills. Usually in small groups along coastal water, rivers and inland ponds and lakes. Usually hover above water to pick up fish.



B) WHITE WINGED TERN (Childonias leucopterus). Breeding birds have black head, chest, upper and lower

Flock of White-winged Terns.

White-winged Tern.

 part. The bills are yellow with black tips. Can be seen in groups. Sometime hover over water to pick up fish.

Whiskered Tern

C) WHISKERED TERN (Clidonias hybrida). Non breeding birds have greyish and white forehead, black bill and streaks in the eyes. Skim low over water or plunging in to get their food.

Whiskered Tern

A flying tern looking for food.

A hovering tern picking up a morsel.

D) BLACK-NAPED TERN (Sterna sumatrana). Except for black nape, it is mostly white in clour. It has a deeply forked tail and narrow black bill.

RAPTORS - Barred Eagle-owl (Bubo sumaranus).

c).  Barred Eagle-owl (Bubo sumaranus). Distributed from parts of Thailand, Malay Peninsiular, Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Lives among the lower or upper parts of the lowland forest. A solitary bird that rarely lives higher than 900 meter.

Adult.

Juvenile.

RAPTORS - Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus).

  Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus). Found in India, S. China, S.E.Asia, and New Guinea. A bird of opened country like padi fields, grassland and oil palm plantations. Feeds mainly on rodents.

RAPTORS - Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela).

The term Raptor  is given to identify 'Birds of prey'. . It is infact derived from the Latin word 'rapere' meaning 'taking by force'. Many of the birds shown here are migrants as well as residents of Malaysia. The migatory birds came here from the Northern Hemisphere during their winter month because of scarcity of food and to breed in our wormer climate.

a)  Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela). A resident in Malaysia and Singapore. This bird is widely distributed in India, South China, S.E.Asia and the Sundas. Mostly found in mangrove forests, oil palm plantations and other wooded areas. Its main diet is snake, hence the name.

BUTTERFLY LIZARD OF MALAYSIA.

A beautiful healthy Malayan Butterfly Lizard.

The butterfly lizard is an agamid native of Thailand, Myanmar, Malay Peninsular and Sumatra. There are eight species and they breed by normal sexual reproduction. But four species are parthenogernetic and has only one sex. They reproduced by cloning. The Malayan Butterfly Lizard (Leiolepis beliana beliana) is one of them.

Its paterns and markings are colourful.

These lizards prefer open, dry, sandy areas where they live in burrows. At the slightest sign of danger they will dart back into their burrows, but will re-emerge about five minutes later.

Vegetations and small insects, constitute to their main diet. They are monogamous and will care for their youngs for some months before the youngs leave to build their own burrow.

A Butterfly Lizard
 feeding on a cricket.

They are quite territorial and can be seen to drive away intruders from nearby burrows. I have seen some of them living quite close together. In a radius of 15 meters, I have counted three burrows.

Peeping out of its burrow
before coming out to forage.

Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea).





A Milky Stork scratching itself.

     


The Milky Stork, a large water bird, with an estimated world wide population of around only 5,550. Listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN/Birdlife International. it can only be found on the West Coast of Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Historically, in Malaysia they are found mostly along the West Coast, but due to habitat deterioration, low reproduction and predators their number is very low now.

Drying out after its bath.

     The lake at Pulau Kelumpang has being confirm as a reserved breeding, feeding and roosting sanctuary for the Milky Stork. Around the Kuala Gula area, a semi wild population of released Milky Stork can be found.


Collecting twigs for nest building.



Frolicking in the hot sun.

Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans)

An Openbill with outstretched wings while landing. 

    

The Asian Openbill Stork are distributed throughout the Indian Subcontinent, Thailand right up to Cambodia. During certain times of the year they can be seen among the wetland and padi fields of Malaysia.

An Openbill foraging for food.

     The storks are normally found congregating at wetlands and padi-fields foraging for food. They feed mainly on molluscs, especially of the pila family. Most of the time the birds used their bill to search for the molluscs in the water and can manage to open the shells to extract the meat. All adults have a gaps in their bills which is well adapted to hold the slippery shells of molluscs. Susprisingly this feature is absent from the juveniles. Water snakes, frogs and large insects round up as part of their food chain too. At times the stork can be seen gliding in flocks, circling in the air, using the thermal to help them move around and save energy.

A freshwater crab fell victim.

     Breeding season is around July to September. Nests with 2-4 eggs are often built on half submerged trees.

The openbills like to sun
themsleves like this.

Ancestor Day (Hari Moyang) of the Mah-Meri Orang Asli tribe of Malaysia.

This article was published in the SJ Echo March 2015 issue.

     Mah-Meri (pronounced: Max Mri) one of the Aborigines tribes of Malaysia are confined to the state of Selangor of Malaysia. They are mainly living near the coast and are mostly fishermen. Being skill carvers and weavers, their labour of love are highly valued by art lovers and collectors.

The Moyang Bojos. A main character of the Jo'oh Dance.



The ancestor shrine being
prepared for blessing ritual.

     The Mah Meri are very respectful of their ancestors and as such set aside a day each year as Hari Moyang (Ancestor Day). On this day, the community pays respect to their ancestors and seek their blessings for bountiful harvests.



     Rituals and blessings are offered to all that come to seek. The Jo'oh Dance is performed by women dancers. Masked male dancers called the Moyang Bojos join in the dance too. They dance around a symbolic mountain (weaved out of leaves of the pandanus trees), that represent their belief of how the world come into being. Music is provided by a group of percussionists and singers.

Blessing ritual in progress.

    
     The women dancers wear blouses made from pounded barks of the Terap tree. While their hairs are decorated with objects and things in their daily lives, weaved from the leaves of the pandanus trees.




The Jo'oh Dance.

     On this Ancestor Day, the villagers and (outsiders too) are encouraged to bring food and drinks as contribution to the celebration. These are then displayed on long tables and serve as refreshments after the rituals, ceremonies and dance performances are over.

They are highly skill weavers too.



Some sing too.

Heads of women dancers
decorated with weaved objects.

The percussionist performing.