Recorded Call of the Malayan Night-heron

Today, at around 8.00 pm, I was lucky to hear and to record the call of the Malayan Night-heron at  NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. The call is loud, continuous for about 15 seconds, the interval for each repeated call is approximately 30 seconds.

This is my first recorded Malayan Night-heron's call. Let's plug in the earphone, click on the play button and enjoy listening to the call.

Warning: this recorded call is for identification purpose only, do not use this as a bird call playback. Click HERE to learn more.

Click HERE to read about the Malayan Night Herons in NCKU.

28-3-2011.
Boon Eu

Taiwan Barbet at NCKU, Tainan.

Taiwan Barbet (Megalaima nuchalis) is a beautiful bird with the most colorful and decorative face in Taiwan. Taiwan Barbet is known as Wuseniao (五色鳥), literally means "5-color bird" in Chinese, it is an endemic species and also the only barbet species exists in Taiwan.

The birds are currently very active at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, it can easily be seen in most of the fruiting trees in the campus. The bird call is usually loud, easily be heard and distinguished

Let's appreciate the beauty of this bird, as well as to preserve and protect their habitats in NCKU campuses.

(click on the picture to enlarge)

26-March-2011
Boon Eu

A Pair of Crested Goshawk at NCKU

Last weekend, I was lucky to spot a pair of Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus, 鳳頭蒼鷹) at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. It was my first experience of spotting a pair of Crested Goshawk. 

It's an opportunity for me to learn how to distinguish the male and the female Crested Goshawk in the field. I learned that the size of the female Crested Goshawk is larger as compared to the male. From my observation and comparison through the digiscoped pictures and field book, I noticed the male has smaller body size as compared to the female, it has shorter crest and round head. The male has distinctive yellowish lines near the nostril and the upper beak. 

Let's take a closer look at the pictures of the pair.

The male:

and the female:

Besides that, I also heard the call that I have never heard of : "chiup.. chiup..chiup", an alarm call from one of them when I was trying to approach nearer.

Boon Eu, 16-March-2011, Tainan, Taiwan.

A Pair of Malayan Night Heron at NCKU. Part-2.

This morning, I went back to the place where I saw a pair of Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus, 黑冠麻鷺) at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. It was my first experience seeing a pair of Malayan Night Heron perched on a mango tree.

From my observation, I would like to confirm that these two Malayan Night Herons are the breeding pair, because both were roosted side by side on the same branch. I believe the male has bluish lores (the space between the eye and bill) and striking plumage as compared to the female. 

The front view

The rear view, the male is bigger in size.

Handsome male with striking plumage and bluish lores (left), female with less striking plumage and grayish lores (right).

Click HERE to read the part-1 of this blog.

Or click HERE to view the immature Malayan Night Herons at NCKU.

Boon Eu, 9-March-2011, Tainan, Taiwan.

A Pair of Malayan Night Heron at NCKU

Today, I was so excited to see a pair of Malayan Night Heron at NCKU (National Cheng Kung University) in Tainan, Taiwan. It was my first experience of seeing a pair of Malayan Night Heron feeding on the same ground and territory.

But, I have a problem to distinguish the male and the female, I can't even find a good and detailed reference about the differences. However, I noticed one of the birds has very bright blue lores (the space between the eye and bill) and striking plumage as compared to the another one. I strongly believe that the one with the brighter color on the lores and striking plumage is the male, while the other one with the pale lores and plumage must be the female.

or could it be an adult with the striking lores and the immature with pale lores? I believe these birds are territorial birds, then why both can feed on the same ground if they are not a breeding pair?

Click HERE to view the Part-2 of this blog.
and click HERE to listen to their call which was recorded at night at NCKU.

View my other blogs about the Malayan Night Heron:
Malayan Night Herons in northern part of Taiwan
Juvenile Malayan Night Heron spotted in Singapore Botanic Gardens

Boon Eu, 7-March-2011, Tainan, Taiwan.