31-10-2016 XIAN, CHINA - AZURE WINGED MAGPIE (Cyanopica cyanus)

28-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer montanus)

28-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - AZURE WINGED MAGPIE (Cyanopica cyanus)

29-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - ORIENTAL MAGPIE (Pica serica)

28-10-2016 BEIJING,CHINA - PALLAS'S LEAF WARBLER (Phylloscopus proregulus)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - SAKER FALCON (Falco cherrug)

The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the Arabian peninsula, northern Pakistan and western China. The saker falcon is the second fastest bird in level flight after the white-throated needletail swift, capable of reaching 150 km/h (93 mph). It is also the 3rd fastest animal in the world overall after the peregrine falcon and the golden eagle, with all three species capable of executing high speed dives known as “swooping”, in excess of 320 km/h (200 mph). The saker falcon is the national bird of Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, and Mongolia.

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - MANDARIN DUCK (MALE) (Aix galericulata)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - MANDARIN DUCK (FEMALE) (Aix galericulata)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - MALLARD (MALE) (Anas platyrhynchos)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer montanus)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - ORIENTAL MAGPIE (Pica serica)

27-10-2016 BEIJING, CHINA - AZURE WINGED MAGPIE (Cyanopica cyanus)

25-1-2016 SINGAPORE - PARADOXOSOMATIDAE MILLIPEDE (Order Polydesmida)

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - JAVAN MYNA (Acridotheres javanicus)

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - BLACK NAPED ORIOLE (Oriolus chinensis)

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - ASIAN KOEL (MALE) (Eudynamys scolopaceu)

The Asian koel is a large and long-tailed cuckoo measuring 39–46 cm (15–18 in) and weighing 190–327 g (6.7–11.5 oz). The male of the nominate race is glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish grey bill, the iris is crimson, and it has grey legs and feet. The female of the nominate race is brownish on the crown and has rufous streaks on the head. The back, rump and wing coverts are dark brown with white and buff spots. The underparts are whitish, but is heavily striped. The other subspecies differ in colouration and size. The upper plumage of young birds is more like that of the male and they have a black beak. They are very vocal during the breeding season (March to August in the Indian Subcontinent), with a range of different calls. The familiar song of the male is a repeated koo-Ooo. The female makes a shrill kik-kik-kik... call. Calls vary across populations.

The Asian koel is a bird of light woodland and cultivation. It is a mainly resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to southern China and the Greater Sundas. They have great potential in colonizing new areas, and were among the pioneer birds to colonize the volcanic island of Krakatau. They first arrived in Singapore in the 1980s and became very common birds.

Some populations may make long-distance movements being found in places like Australia.

The Asian koel is a brood parasite, and lays its single egg in the nests of a variety of birds, including the jungle crow, and house crow. In Sri Lanka before 1880 it was only known to parasitize the jungle crow, later shifting to the house crow. A study in India found 5% of Corvus splendens and 0.5% of Corvus macrorhynchos nests parasitized.

The Asian koel is omnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. Adults feed mainly on fruit. They will sometimes defend fruiting trees that they forage in and chase away other frugivores. They have been noted to be especially important in the dispersal of the sandalwood tree (Santalum album) in India. Large seeded fruits are sometimes quickly regurgitated near the parent tree while small seeded fruits are ingested and are likely to be deposited at greater distances from the parent tree. They have a large gape and are capable of swallowing large fruits including the hard fruit of palms such as Arenga and Livistona. They have been known to occasionally take eggs of small birds.

They feed on the fruits of Cascabela thevetia which are known to be toxic to mammals.

A number of parasites of the species have been described, including malaria-like protozoa, lice and nematodes.

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - OLIVE BACKED SUNBIRD (MALE) (Cinnyris jugularis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145194-Cinnyris-jugularis

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - ASIAN BROWN FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa dauurica)

25-10-2016 SINGAPORE - SUNDA PYGMY WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos moluccensis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/792950-Yungipicus-moluccensis

A common visitor to urban areas and forests in Singapore. Often found singly or in pairs rapidly moving up trees. Found from ground right up into the topmost branches of trees on dead branches.

22-10-2016 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN ROBIN (Erithacus rubecula)

28-8-2015 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

The Grey Heron is a distinctive species with grey, black, and white plumage. It is often seen along rivers or lake margins, or standing in flooded fields.

In flight their large size, impressive wingspan, long legs, and folded neck give them an unmistakable silhouette. Largely silent away from colonies, flight is sometimes accompanied by a harsh ‘kraank’ call.

Grey Herons gather to nest in treetop sites called heronries, some of which have been occupied for many decades. These have been monitored in the UK since 1928 through the Heronries Census. Overall the UK's breeding population has increased, with numbers peaking in the early 2000, but with some more recent declines.

25-8-2015 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - COMMON KINGFISHER (FEMALE) (Alcedo atthis)

The Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small kingfisher widely distributed across Eurasia and North Africa. It is amongst the most colorful birds but despite its extraordinary colors, sometimes the Common kingfisher is difficult to see when it is in a dappled shade, and its colors are also not very obvious in flight. Furthermore, due to its shy nature, the Common kingfisher often remains hidden from a human's eye.

The Common kingfisher has the typical short-tailed, dumpy-bodied, large-headed, and long-billed shape. The adult male of the western European subspecies, A. a. ispida has green-blue upperparts with pale azure-blue back and rump, a rufous patch by the bill base, and a rufous ear patch. It has a green-blue neck stripe, white neck blaze and throat, rufous underparts, and a black bill with some red at the base. The legs and feet are bright red. The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The juvenile is similar to the adult but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black. Feathers are moulted gradually between July and November with the main flight feathers taking 90-100 days to moult and regrow. Some that moult late may suspend their moult during cold winter weather.

Despite its brightly-coloured plumage, the Kingfisher can be a challenging bird to spot when perched on a waterside branch. More often than not you will be first alerted to its presence by its piping call.

Widely distributed on lowland rivers and still-waters, the Kingfisher is a species whose fortunes have waxed and waned. Numbers are impacted by severe winter weather, and this may be the main driver of change, but changing water quality and availability of favoured prey may also play a role.

Kingfishers may move away from their breeding territories during the winter months, including to more coastal sites, in order to reduce the impacts of poor winter weather on fishing opportunities.