Birdielog - 220307

Some of these birds are always around, so I won't mention them from the next time on unless they are unusually absent for a long period of time. Let's call these "The Cold Reading" - that is, you don't actually have to TRY to spot them - you will encounter these without too much actual birdwatching. In order of descending size,

• Black Kite
• Jungle Crow (Large-Billed Crow)
• House Crow
• Asian Koel
• Blue Rock Pigeon (the 'synthetic' urban breed - I have my misgivings actually attributing the name)
• Rose-Ringed Parakeet
• White-Cheeked Barbet - not the Brown-Headed Barbet, confirmed almost positively as of June 2007
• Common Myna
• Jungle Myna

Range : Richmond Town, Richmond Park
Time : 0800 - 0915 hrs
March 22, 2007

Sighted for sure:

• Spotted Dove
• Rosy Starling (flock)
• Oriental Magpie-Robin
• Black Drongo
• Common Tailorbird
• Purple-Rumped Sunbird or Small Sunbird (difficult to tell)
• Blyth's Reed Warbler or Booted Warbler (difficult to tell again...behaviour and call was more like the Booted Warbler)

Heard for sure but not sighted:

• Red-Whiskered Bulbul
• Greenish Leaf Warbler or Large-Billed Leaf Warbler (most probably the former)

Suspected:

• Grey-Headed Starling (don't know if the flocks have gone up North already, since they are always with the Rosy Starling flocks and are difficult to actually see)
• Tickell's Flowerpecker (so tiny that it's almost impossible to spot; only the call gives it away)
• At least one or two small species up in the canopy which cannot be identified without field glasses ....

Memo to me : Get myself some field glasses !!!

My roster above is not comprehensive; any number of other skulking birds could be present. A lot of these are expert at losing themselves in the foliage so you don't even suspect they are there. For instance, yesterday (21st March) I did sight a couple of Eurasian Golden Orioles. Now that doesn't mean they weren't around today; it could mean that they silently managed to keep out of sight today; or that they could show up if I had stayed longer, etc.

Among the birds I always suspect are around, that I haven't yet actually been able to sight are the following:

• Common Iora
• Oriental White-Eye

Again, there are birds that pass by and sometimes stay awhile for no apparent rhyme or reason, that I did not see today, however....the foremost of these is the Great Tit.

Ok....we'll need to wait for tomorrow to see who else turns up :):)