9-11-2016 MANDALAY, MYANMAR - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

The Little egret (Egretta garzetta) is small elegant heron in the family Ardeidae. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. At one time common in Western Europe, the Little heron was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in Northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase.

The plumage of the Little egret is normally entirely white, although there are dark forms with largely bluish-grey plumage. In the breeding season, the adult has two long plumes on the nape that form a crest. These plumes are about 150 mm (6 in) and are pointed and very narrow. There are similar feathers on the breast, but the barbs are more widely spread. There are also several elongated scapular feathers that have long loose barbs and may be 200 mm (8 in) long. During the winter the plumage is similar but the scapulars are shorter and more normal in appearance.

The bill is long and slender and it and the lores are black. There is an area of greenish-grey bare skin at the base of the lower mandible and around the eye which has a yellow iris. The legs are black and the feet yellow. Juveniles are similar to non-breeding adults but have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet, and may have a certain proportion of greyish or brownish feathers. The subspecies nigripes differs in having yellow skin between the bill and eye, and blackish feet. During the height of courtship, the lores turn red and the feet of the yellow-footed races turn red.

9-11-2016 MANDALAY, MYANMAR - HOUSE CROW (Corvus splendens)

The House crow (Corvus splendens) is a common bird of the crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping.

The House crow is relatively small and slim-bodied, with long legs and plumage that is mostly black or blackish-slate. ‘Shining raven’ is the meaning of its scientific name, referring to its glossy, jet-black feathers around the face, chin, crown, and throat. Males and females are similar in appearance. Juveniles have duller plumage which does not feature the adults’ glossy black sheen.

Population size

Unknown

Life Span

6 years

Top speed

52

km/hmph

km/h mph 

Weight

250-350

goz

g oz 

Length

42-44

cminch

House crows are omnivorous, eating rubbish, leftovers, debris, and sewage. They also eat lizards, fish, frogs, crabs, insects, nectar, fruits, the seeds of cereal, eggs, chicks, and small mammals.

The House crow is widely distributed throughout southern Asia, from southern Iran through Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and into south-western China, southern Tibet, and central Thailand, as well as the Maldives. It has been introduced to places in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and several islands, such as Mauritius. A small population is established around St. Petersburg, Florida. It is typically a lowland species, found in both tropical and subtropical areas. Some, however, have been seen in Himalayan military bases. This bird is strongly associated with humans, living in cities, towns, and villages. Interestingly, no populations are known to live in areas where there are no people.

A House crow is very intelligent and is always wary and alert, walking or hopping along while flicking its wings nervously. It is a diurnal, non-migratory, social species and gathers in noisy flocks and forms massive roosts. The flocks may consist of hundreds or thousands of birds, and this species will also gather with parakeets and mynahs in plantations and mangroves. House crows return to their foraging grounds just prior to dawn. It is a very noisy species, with a rather dry, flat, toneless call described as a ‘kaaan-kaaan’ or ‘kaa-kaao’. During social interactions, they also make a wide range of softer, nasal calls.

House crows are generally regarded as monogamous, forming long-term pair bonds. However many individuals seem to be somewhat polygynandrous (promiscuous) when both males and females have multiple mates. The breeding season varies depending on the location. In India, it is from April to June, at the start of the wet season, while in East Africa it is between September and June. They are usually solitary nesters and typically nest close to human habitation. Nests are often in trees, but their untidy nests are also found on ledges of buildings, street lamps, and electricity pylons. 3 to 5 eggs are laid, very variable in shape and color, with an average of 4 per clutch. A female may produce two clutches per breeding season. Incubation is for about 15-17 days and is done by both parents, but at night it is mainly the female. Chicks stay in the nest for about 21 to 28 days, being tended to by both parents, on which they are dependent for several weeks more on leaving the nest.

8-11-2016 MANDALAY, MYANMAR - AYEYARWADDY BULBUL (Pycnonotus blanfordi)

The Ayeyarwady bulbul (Pycnonotus blanfordi ) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to Myanmar.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Until 2016, the Ayeyarwady bulbul was considered to be conspecific with the streak-eared bulbul (now Pycnonotus conradi ).

Ayeyarwady Bulbul has a tiny distribution in Thailand restricted to the western border. However, they can be quite numerous where found. Compared to the once conspecific Streak-eared Bulbul, the Ayeyarwady Bulbul differs by having paler sandy brown plumage with more well-defined streaks on the ear coverts and most importantly, crimson iris instead of bluish-grey.

Ayeyarwady Bulbul (Pycnonotus blanfordi)

Order: Pycnonotus blanfordi
Family: Bulbuls (Pycnonotidae)

8-11-2016 MANDALAY, MYANMAR - HUME'S WARBLER (Phylloscopus humei)

Hume's leaf warbler or Hume's warbler (Phylloscopus humei ) is a small leaf warbler which breeds in the mountains of inner Asia. This warbler is migratory and winters mainly in India.

The English name and the specific humei bird commemorate Allan Octavian Hume, a British civilservant and ornithologist based in India. The genus name Phylloscopus is from Ancient Greek phullon, "leaf", and skopos, "seeker" (from skopeo, "to watch"). Like most similar songbirds, it was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage.

Hume's leaf warbler is one of the smallest "Old World warblers". Like most other leaf warblers, it has greenish upperparts and off-white underparts. With its long supercilium, crown stripe and yellow-margined tertial remiges, it is very similar to the yellow-browed warbler (P. inornatus ). However, it has only one prominent light wing bar, just a faint vestige of the second shorter wing bar, and overall duller colours. It also has a dark lower mandible and legs.

Its song is buzzing and high-pitched. The best distinction from the yellow-browed warbler is the more disyllabic call. While the eastern and western Hume's leaf warblers already show noticeable differences in mtDNA sequence and calls, their songs do not differ; they are reproductively isolated only by allopatry and not usually considered separate species.

Continents

Asia

Countries

China, Mongolia, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates.

8-11-2016 MANDALAY, MYANMAR - HOUSE CROW (Corvus splendens)

The House crow (Corvus splendens) is a common bird of the crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping.

The House crow is relatively small and slim-bodied, with long legs and plumage that is mostly black or blackish-slate. ‘Shining raven’ is the meaning of its scientific name, referring to its glossy, jet-black feathers around the face, chin, crown, and throat. Males and females are similar in appearance. Juveniles have duller plumage which does not feature the adults’ glossy black sheen.

The House crow is widely distributed throughout southern Asia, from southern Iran through Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and into south-western China, southern Tibet, and central Thailand, as well as the Maldives. It has been introduced to places in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and several islands, such as Mauritius. A small population is established around St. Petersburg, Florida. It is typically a lowland species, found in both tropical and subtropical areas. Some, however, have been seen in Himalayan military bases. This bird is strongly associated with humans, living in cities, towns, and villages. Interestingly, no populations are known to live in areas where there are no people.

7-11-2016 BANGKOK, THAILAND - ZEBRA DOVE (Geopelia striata)

The zebra dove (Geopelia striata ), also known as the barred ground dove, or barred dove, is a species of bird of the dove family, Columbidae, native to Southeast Asia. They are small birds with a long tail, predominantly brownish-grey in colour with black-and-white barring. The species is known for its pleasant, soft, staccato cooing calls.

The birds are small and slender with a long, narrow tail. The upperparts are brownish-grey with black-and-white barring. The underparts are pinkish with black bars on the sides of the neck, breast and belly. The face is blue-grey with bare blue skin around the eyes. There are white tips to the tail feathers. Juveniles are duller and paler than the adults. They can also have brown feathers. Zebra doves are 20–23 centimetres in length with a wingspan of 24–26 cm.

Their call is a series of soft, staccato cooing notes. In Thailand and Indonesia, the birds are popular as pets because of their calls and cooing competitions are held to find the bird with the best voice. In Indonesia this bird is called perkutut. In the Philippines they are known as batobatong katigbe ("pebbled katigbe") and kurokutok ; in Malaysia this bird is called merbuk, onomatopoeic to their calls. They are also known as tukmo in Filipino, a name also given to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis ) and other wild doves.

The native range of the species extends from Southern Thailand, Tenasserim, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. It may also be native to Borneo, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and the Philippine islands.

The zebra dove is popular in captivity and many populations have appeared outside its native range due to birds escaping or being deliberately released. It can now be found in central Thailand, Laos, Borneo, Sulawesi, Hawaii (introduced in 1922), Tahiti (1950), New Caledonia, the Seychelles, the Chagos Archipelago (1960), Mauritius (before 1768), Réunion, and Saint Helena.

It inhabits scrub, farmland, and open country in lowland areas and is commonly seen in parks and gardens. Trapping for the cagebird industry has led to them becoming rare in parts of Indonesia but in most parts of its range it is common. Zebra doves are among the most abundant birds in some places such as Hawaii and the Seychelles.

The zebra dove feeds on small grass and weed seeds. They will also eat insects and other small invertebrates. They prefer to forage on bare ground, short grass or on roads, scurrying about with rodent-like movement. Unlike other doves, they forage alone, or in pairs. Their colouration camouflages them wonderfully when on the ground.

In its native range the breeding season is from September to June. The males perform a courtship display where they bow and coo while raising and spreading the tail. Upon selection of a nesting site, the female will place herself there and will make guttural sounds to attract males to help build the nest. The nest is a simple platform of leaves and grass blades. It is built in a bush or tree or sometimes on the ground and sometimes on window ledges. One or two white eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents for 13 to 18 days. The young leave the nest within two weeks and can fly well after three weeks.

7-11-2016 BANGKOK, THAILAND - EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer montanus)

The Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult. This sparrow breeds over most of temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia, where it is known as the tree sparrow, and it has been introduced elsewhere including the United States, where it is known as the Eurasian tree sparrow or German sparrow to differentiate it from the native unrelated American tree sparrow. Although several subspecies are recognised, the appearance of this bird varies little across its extensive range.

The Eurasian tree sparrow's untidy nest is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building or the disused nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow feeds mainly on seeds, but invertebrates are also consumed, particularly during the breeding season. As with other small birds, infection by parasites and diseases, and predation by birds of prey take their toll, and the typical life span is about two years.

7-11-2016 BANGKOK, THAILAND - COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis)

The Common myna (Acridotheres tristis) is a tropical bird with a strong territorial instinct, which has adapted extremely well to urban environments. The range of the Common myna is increasing at such a rapid rate that in 2000 the IUCN Species Survival Commission declared it one of the world's most invasive species and one of only three birds listed among "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Species" that pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture, and human interests.

Common mynas can be recognized by their brown body, black hooded head, and the bare yellow patch behind the eye. Their bill and legs are bright yellow. There is a white patch on the outer primaries and the wing lining on the underside is white. The male and female look similar and are usually seen in pairs.

Population size

Unknown

Life Span

4-12 years

Top speed

30

km/hmph

km/h mph 

Weight

109-138

goz

g oz 

Length

23

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

120-142

mminch

Common mynas are native to Asia with their home range spanning from Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka; as well as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, to Malaysia, Singapore, peninsular Thailand, Indo-China, Japan (both mainland Japan and the Ryukyu Islands) and China. These birds are typically found in a wide range of habitats with access to water; they inhabit open woodland, mangroves, grasslands, farmlands, orchards, and urban areas.

Common mynas are social birds that roost communally throughout the year, either in pure or mixed flocks with jungle mynas, rosy starlings, house crows, jungle crows, cattle egrets, and other birds. These roosts can contain less than one hundred and up to thousands of birds. Birds start to gather in roosts before sunset and depart before sunrise. Mynas often perform communal displays (pre-roosting and post-roosting) which consist of aerial maneuvers and are exhibited in the pre-breeding season (November to March). It is assumed that this behavior is related to pair formation. During the day, Common mynas spend most of their time foraging and may travel up to 10 km between their roosting and feeding sites each day. They feed on the ground walking with occasional hops among grass looking for insects, especially grasshoppers. When mynas need to communicate with each other, they use croaks, squawks, chirps, clicks, whistles, and 'growls'; they also often fluff their feathers and bob their head in singing. They also screech warnings to their mate or other birds in cases of predators in proximity or when they are about to take off flying. Before sleeping in communal roosts, mynas vocalize in unison, which is known as "communal noise".

Common mynas are monogamous and believed to pair for life. They breed through much of the year depending on the location, building their nest in a hole in a tree or wall. Nesting material used in nest construction includes twigs, roots, tow, and rubbish. During the breeding, season mynas become highly territorial, and neighboring pairs often fight furiously. The normal clutch size is 4-6 eggs which are incubated by the female within 17-18 days. The chicks are altricial; they are born helpless, with reddish bodies, and blind. The young usually fledge at 22 to 24 days of age and become independent 3 weeks later.

7-11-2016 BANGKOK, THAILAND - BARN SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica)

The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it has the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometers globally. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".

The Barn swallow is a distinctive songbird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. There is a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail. The female is similar in appearance to the male, but the tail streamers are shorter, the blue of the upperparts and breast band is less glossy, and the underparts paler. The juvenile is browner and has a paler rufous face and whiter underparts. It also lacks the long tail streamers of the adult.

Barn swallows are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. These birds are long-distance migrants and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. The preferred habitat of Barn swallows is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows, and farmland, preferably with nearby water. These birds avoid heavily wooded or precipitous areas and densely built-up locations. On their wintering grounds, Barn swallows avoid only dense forests and deserts. They are most common in open, low vegetation habitats, such as savanna and ranch land, and in Venezuela, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago the birds are particularly attracted to burnt or harvested sugarcane fields and the waste from the cane.

Barn swallows are gregarious birds and in the absence of suitable roost sites, they sometimes roost on wires where they are more exposed to predators. Individual birds tend to return to the same wintering locality each year and congregate from a large area to roost in reed beds. These roosts can be extremely large and are thought to be a protection from predators. Barn swallows typically feed by day in open areas 7-8 m (23-26 ft) above shallow water or the ground often following animals, humans, or farm machinery to catch disturbed insects; they may also pick prey items from the water surface, walls, and plants. During the breeding, season Barn swallows hunt in pairs, but otherwise form often large flocks. These birds are usually fairly quiet on the wintering grounds. At other times they communicate with constant twittering and chattering. The song of the male Barn swallow is a cheerful warble, often ending with 'su-seer'. Other calls include 'witt' or 'witt-witt' and a loud 'splee-plink' when excited (or trying to chase intruders away from the nest). The alarm calls include a sharp 'siflitt' for predators like cats and a 'flitt-flitt' for birds of prey like the hobby.

The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it has the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometers globally. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only common species called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".

The Barn swallow is a distinctive songbird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. There is a line of white spots across the outer end of the upper tail. The female is similar in appearance to the male, but the tail streamers are shorter, the blue of the upperparts and breast band is less glossy, and the underparts paler. The juvenile is browner and has a paler rufous face and whiter underparts. It also lacks the long tail streamers of the adult.

Barn swallows are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. These birds are long-distance migrants and their wintering grounds cover much of the Southern Hemisphere as far south as central Argentina, the Cape Province of South Africa, and northern Australia. The preferred habitat of Barn swallows is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows, and farmland, preferably with nearby water. These birds avoid heavily wooded or precipitous areas and densely built-up locations. On their wintering grounds, Barn swallows avoid only dense forests and deserts. They are most common in open, low vegetation habitats, such as savanna and ranch land, and in Venezuela, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago the birds are particularly attracted to burnt or harvested sugarcane fields and the waste from the cane.

3-11-2016 FENGJIE, CHINA - ORIENTAL GREENFINCH (Chloris sinica)

The grey-capped greenfinch or Oriental greenfinch (Chloris sinica ) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae that breeds in broadleaf and conifer woodlands of the East Palearctic.

The grey-capped greenfinch is a medium-sized finch 12.5 to 14 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in) in length, with a strong bill and a short slightly forked tail. It nests in trees or bushes, laying 3-5 eggs.

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the grey-capped greenfinch in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in China. He used the French name Le pinçon de la Chine and the Latin Fringilla sinencis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the grey-capped greenfinch. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Fringilla sinica and cited Brisson's work. The type locality was subsequently restricted to Macau in eastern China. The specific name sinica is Medieval Latin for Chinese.

The greenfinches were later placed in the genus Carduelis but when molecular phylogenetic studies found that they were not closely related to the other species in Carduelis, the greenfinches were moved to the resurrected genus Chloris. The genus had been introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800. The word Chloris is from the Ancient Greek khlōris for a European greenfinch; the specific epithet sinica is Mediaeval Latin for "Chinese".

Five subspecies are now recognised:

C. s. ussuriensis Hartert, 1903 – northeastern China, Korea and eastern Siberia

C. s. kawarahiba ( Temminck, 1836) – Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuril Islands and northeastern Hokkaido

C. s. minor (Temminck & Schlegel, 1848) – Japan: southern Hokkaido to Kyushu

C. s. kittlitzi ( Seebohm, 1890) – Bonin Islands including Iwo Jima

C. s. sinica (Linnaeus, 1766) – central and eastern China to central Vietnam.

6-11-2016 SHANGHAI, CHINA - ASIAN COMMA BUTTERFLY (Polygonia c-aureum)

Polygonia c-aureum, the Asian comma, is a middle-size butterfly found in Japan (from Hokkaidō to Tanegashima), Korean Peninsula, China, Taiwan, and Indochina.

It has a wingspan of 27 mm. Wings are orange with black dots. The undersides of the wings is mottled brown (tree bark like) with a shiny comma mark on the center of the hindwing. The main difference with other comma species is that it has blueish markings on the bottom of its hindwing.

P. c-aureum is common in suburban areas. It is not a threatened species. The larvae of the species feed on plants such as: Humulus japonicus, the Japanese hop.

6-11-2016 SHANGHAI, CHINA - DAURIAN REDSTART (Phoenicurus auroreus)

The Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) is a small songbird from Asia. The species was first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family but is now generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher.

Daurian redstarts are strongly sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females are not similar in their appearance. Breeding males have a grey crown and nape with lighter forehead and crown-sides, a black face and chin, brownish mantle and wings, and a large white wing patch; the chest, lower back, and rump are orange, and the tail is black with orange sides. Juvenile males are similarly patterned but much duller and less clearly marked. Females are warm brown above, paler below, have an orange rump and tail sides, and have a large white wing patch similar to the males. Bill, eye, legs, and feet are black in both sexes.

Daurian redstarts are found in Manchuria, southeastern Russia, northeastern Mongolia, central China, and Korea. They are migratory with some populations wintering in Korea, Japan, southeast coastal China, and Taiwan, and other populations spending winter in northeast India and parts of Southeast Asia. Daurian redstarts prefer to live in open forests, forest edges, agricultural margins, and are also commonly found in parks and urban gardens.

Daurian redstarts are active during the day and usually spend their time singly or in pairs. They don't tend to form flocks and during the breeding season become territorial. They feed during the daylight hours searching for food both in trees and on the ground. Daurian redstarts have an agile flight when foraging and can even perform short aerial sallies. They are not wary of humans and often allow them to approach quite closely before flying away.

Daurian redstarts are carnivores (insectivores) and herbivores (frugivores, granivores). Insects make up a large part of their diet, especially during the breeding season and they also eat berries and seeds.