Birds in your garden

[Skeptic7]

Brown Shrike again this morn. Getting on the late side for BKK. 

 

Also suspected flyovers at a distance a few times...verified today in breeding plumage. #64 for the patch...Cattle Egret. 

Edited April 15, 2018 by Skeptic7

[Skeptic7]

Long expected and long awaited...a pair of Baya Weaver this morning in the patch for #64. (patch count was over by 1 in the last post). 

 

Nice getting 2 in mid-April! When first moved to this apt a bit over 2 years ago, never dreamed 64 sp was reachable. Back then 50-55 was my target...and that on the high end! 

[AjarnNorth]

14 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Long expected and long awaited...a pair of Baya Weaver this morning in the patch for #64. (patch count was over by 1 in the last post). 

 

Nice getting 2 in mid-April! When first moved to this apt a bit over 2 years ago, never dreamed 64 sp was reachable. Back then 50-55 was my target...and that on the high end! 

Keep your eyes open through April. One of my first years back in Bangsaen, hiding from Songkran for the duration so only birding the yard, I had my first and only Green-backed Flycatcher ("rare to scarce passage migrant"), my first Christmas Frigate Birds (seen a few since), and my first and only Chonburi Dollar Bird (seen elsewhere but not again here). And those all in one day! 

[Bredbury Blue]

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 10:58 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

One that didn't make it...bloody glass windows

 

 

 

Currently have a (live) Siberian Thrush hanging around the garden. First one I've seen since this deceased one 2 years ago.

[jak2002003]

Anyone in Chiang Mai San Sai area please keep a lookout for my escaped pet Gouldian Finch!  

 

I have a small aviary in my garden, and when feeding the birds this morning the sneaky guy flew out through a very small gap in the door!!!  

 

He looks like this

 

 

[jack2964]

Dollarbird.

Not exactly from my garden but from a lake about 3km from my residence.

This lake adjoins Thap Lan NP. I saw about 5 or 6 of these in flight but not in formation and they did several circuits 

around a bay where I was seeking refuge from the heat. Also saw 3 unidentified Needle-tailed swifts but they were

way too fast for me.

[jak2002003]

8 minutes ago, jack2964 said:

Dollarbird.

Not exactly from my garden but from a lake about 3km from my residence.

This lake adjoins Thap Lan NP. I saw about 5 or 6 of these in flight but not in formation and they did several circuits 

around a bay where I was seeking refuge from the heat. Also saw 3 unidentified Needle-tailed swifts but they were

way too fast for me.

Wow.  Beautiful birds.  Anyone know their name? 

[thetefldon]

Little Cormorant flying near the house, have seen up to 3 together recently, one hangs out round the local pond.

[thetefldon]

Oriental Pratincole super birds fly very fast like a Swallow

[Bredbury Blue]

On 18/04/2018 at 10:31 AM, jak2002003 said:

Anyone in Chiang Mai San Sai area please keep a lookout for my escaped pet Gouldian Finch!  

 

I have a small aviary in my garden, and when feeding the birds this morning the sneaky guy flew out through a very small gap in the door!!!  

 

He looks like this

 

 

That is a very strange looking bird! Just googled it to find out more. Can see why it's called Rainbow Finch.

[jak2002003]

21 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

That is a very strange looking bird! Just googled it to find out more. Can see why it's called Rainbow Finch.

No sign of him coming back.  I have 4 more and I thought he might come back to be with them as they are flock birds.

 

I have had few escaped budgies over the years, but they always came back after some fun flying about for a day or 2.  

 

 

[Speedo1968]

Hello this is Speedo, not posted for a while because of limited mobility and viewing of wild birds.   Also unable to use a camera very well, sorry no pics available.

 

The wild budgie continues to visit my garden every day to feed with other birds.

 

Again confirmed that as with farmed animals color of feeding or watering trays is important, red for chickens, yellow for ducks, green for turkeys and red - pink for wild birds.  Has anyone else noticed this for any bird species ?

 

Yellow headed / necked myna seen again this past week.    Same location as previous sightings.   Didn't see last year but did for the previous two years.    This time the bird seen was in excellent condition, not sure of its age, perhaps from last years batch.    Perhaps the bird genetically improves each generation.

 

Its been the myna mating season for the past few weeks, have to pairs now visiting my garden, last year only one.   Great displays when the male introduces the female to the water trays.   Have a few trays about 5 metres apart, both birds will bathe at the same time but in different trays.    Sometimes as with other birds one will fly away presumably to check on its young.

 

Have had two other mynas visiting however their coloring is different from other mynas seen.    The legs are very pale, almost white and the birds have white flashes to their eyes, not yellow.     Could anyone tell me if these are the colorings of immature birds or a genetic trait ?

 

Sparrows, all types regular visitors, they will bathe alongside bulbuls and fantails.

 

I go out walking ( live outside a small enclave of a small town south of Khon Kaen) at about 4.30 to 5am every day.   There is a bird that has a very loud voice that sings around 5.15am for a few minutes, anyone any idea what bird this could be ?

 

Seen only male hoopoes again this year, local population old and young were trap netted and left to die a couple of years ago, along with some owls and other birds etc.   Guess the hunters only wanted song birds.

[AjarnNorth]

How are you differentiating male from female Hoopoe?

 

Your loud bird at 5 AM is likely a Koel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXLshD-yRA

 

Yellow headed Myna would likely be Golden-crested. You'll know if you look at pics. Depends on what you mean by "yellow-headed." Any other Myna you are seeing are likely either Common or White-vented. Myna's with white in eyes could be mynas or one of the starling.

 

I recommend you get a guide book.

[Speedo1968]

On 4/26/2018 at 10:45 AM, AjarnNorth said:

How are you differentiating male from female Hoopoe?

 

Your loud bird at 5 AM is likely a Koel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXLshD-yRA

 

Yellow headed Myna would likely be Golden-crested. You'll know if you look at pics. Depends on what you mean by "yellow-headed." Any other Myna you are seeing are likely either Common or White-vented. Myna's with white in eyes could be mynas or one of the starling.

 

I recommend you get a guide book.

Thanks AjarnNorth for your reply.

Hoopoes', I am only observing behavior, not appearance.

I have seem Koel in the local area including my garden, but could only hear call as it is still dark when I walk in the

morning.

The myna has a full yellow head and all of the neck, not the first I have seen in the same small area.    If I base what I see on my knowledge of genetics in farming, this is a genetic fault ( ? ), probably from the male side.

The other mynas I saw with the pale legs, had definite white flashes over the eyes, the flashes were quite large, again I suspect some form of local cross.    Definitely not a Common or White myna or starling.

 

 

[Skeptic7]

5 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

Thanks AjarnNorth for your reply.

Hoopoes', I am only observing behavior, not appearance.

I have seem Koel in the local area including my garden, but could only hear call as it is still dark when I walk in the

morning.

The myna has a full yellow head and all of the neck, not the first I have seen in the same small area.    If I base what I see on my knowledge of genetics in farming, this is a genetic fault ( ? ), probably from the male side.

The other mynas I saw with the pale legs, had definite white flashes over the eyes, the flashes were quite large, again I suspect some form of local cross.    Definitely not a Common or White myna or starling.

 

 

AN would be correct. The only myna (which are considered starlings and in the same family...Sturnidae) with a mostly yellow head is Golden-crested. Below are some pix found online.  Just for reference...as this myna with yellow head query sounded familiar...you asked this in a lengthy 7 question post back in January. It was Page 48, Post #706, Question #6. I responded to each question and answered Golden-crested Myna in Post #707. (see below)

 

{# 6 – Two mynas seen two years ago near small country road.  Birds had yellow head, seen last year almost same place same time of year one myna with yellow head and neck. 

 

#6. Golden-crested Myna. Status: uncommon resident}

 

 

Edited April 28, 2018 by Skeptic7

[AjarnNorth]

How are you differentiating male hoopoes by behavior, especially if there are only male hoopoes?

 

Genetic faults and hybrids are not as common as you seem to think. It's more likely your mynas or starlings are one species or another and perhaps juveniles or females vs. males, or something else altogether, than that they are "genetic faults." I have seen Mynas with no hair on their heads. Some sort of illness, I presume. 

 

Your sparrows are likely limited to two species, possibly three, depending on your surrounds: Eurasian Tree, House, and/or Plain-backed.

 

A guidebook and some time are your best bet. 

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, AjarnNorth said:

I have seen Mynas with no hair on their heads. Some sort of illness, I presume. 

 

Funny that you mention it! Have not observed the "bald bird" phenomenon yet in Thailand, though observed it many times in the USA. Mostly in Cardinals and Blue Jays. Interesting (and coincidental?) they are both crested species. Perhaps more definitive info is available nowadays, but only speculative back then as to the cause. Molting and/or lice or mites were the usual speculations. Other than the bizarre "haircut", the birds acted, ate, drank and went about their daily business normally. Seems that whatever the cause...it did not appear detrimental to health. 

[AjarnNorth]

Yeah, I know it's not "hair" by the way, but that seemed the best description. I may have pics somewhere but would be hard pressed to find them. I have only seen this with Mynas and i think the occasional sick looking rock pigeon. Have you read about the "Bare-faced Bulbul" found in Laos in 2009? Pretty interesting.

[Speedo1968]

20 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

AN would be correct. The only myna (which are considered starlings and in the same family...Sturnidae) with a mostly yellow head is Golden-crested. Below are some pix found online.  Just for reference...as this myna with yellow head query sounded familiar...you asked this in a lengthy 7 question post back in January. It was Page 48, Post #706, Question #6. I responded to each question and answered Golden-crested Myna in Post #707. (see below)

 

{# 6 – Two mynas seen two years ago near small country road.  Birds had yellow head, seen last year almost same place same time of year one myna with yellow head and neck. 

 

#6. Golden-crested Myna. Status: uncommon resident}

 

 

Thank you for the pics and your mention of my earlier question in January.     The birds I see are myna's and have a full head and complete neck in yellow.     They are not golden crested mynas.

[AjarnNorth]

2 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

Thank you for the pics and your mention of my earlier question in January.     The birds I see are myna's and have a full head and complete neck in yellow.     They are not golden crested mynas.

There are only 5 kinds of Mynas in Thailand and only one of them - Golden-crested - has a yellow head and neck. So either you are seeing Golden-crested or not seeing Mynas. Of course, as Skeptic pointed out already, Mynas and Starlings are of the same family, and so that leaves the possibility of your seeing Black-collared Starling, which have a yellow area around the eye and a creamy colored head and neck. Google those and have a look. But if that doesn't match, then you are not seeing Mynas or Starlings, you are seeing something else. 

 

 

[Skeptic7]

2 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

Thank you for the pics and your mention of my earlier question in January.     The birds I see are myna's and have a full head and complete neck in yellow.     They are not golden crested mynas.

Perhaps you have discovered a new sp!  But seriously Speedo...other than Golden-crested, there is no other myna in Thailand that fits your description. As you know, plumage varies between sexes and at particular times...especially breeding season and molt. Doing some digging, have uncovered a few pix with varying amounts of yellow. Do you happen to recall the yellow wing patch? That would be diagnostic. Hope this helps. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Speedo1968]

16 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

There are only 5 kinds of Mynas in Thailand and only one of them - Golden-crested - has a yellow head and neck. So either you are seeing Golden-crested or not seeing Mynas. Of course, as Skeptic pointed out already, Mynas and Starlings are of the same family, and so that leaves the possibility of your seeing Black-collared Starling, which have a yellow area around the eye and a creamy colored head and neck. Google those and have a look. But if that doesn't match, then you are not seeing Mynas or Starlings, you are seeing something else. 

 

 

Thanks again AjarnNorth for your comments.

When I first saw these mynas about 3 years ago, in the same area of land, I looked for similar images online and found only one picture.     In the picture I found the bird looked to be unthrifty but not necessarily sick.   The bird I saw at that time was in fairly good condition, well feathered, no signs of moulting and flew well.  

 

The bird / s I have seen this time, ( actually 2, one full head and all of neck yellow the other bird all of head yellow ), on a few occasions at around the same time of day were in excellent condition.    The birds were in a small flock feeding in a field.   Everything about the birds was myna, its stance, its movements, its activity, its behaviour.     I could see clearly as they were only a few metres away.    

 

I have attached three photos found online, one of the bloggers shows pictures of a bald myna and another with yellow head and neck.    All pics seem to be have taken in Malaysia.    Dave Blackwell ( blogger ) says that the lack of feathering can / could be due to a twice yearly moult.    I agree this is possible, as its condition shown in the photo is better than that of a bird that has lost feathers due to lice or illness / malnutrition.    

 

I have many years of working with ducks and chickens as well as other animals in many countries.    Some of the crosses to improve breeding / commercial birds often throw up strange, normally unwanted and certainly not expected results.     The selection process takes up to 5 years depending on species, if it doesn't work one has to start all over again.     Presumably the yellow feathered mynas I have seen suffer no bad effects from such crossing and they are not rejected by other mynas in the same flock.   Guess there is just a throw back in the birds genes.

 

Today I saw for the first time a White Breasted Waterhen  just a few metres from my house in the garden.

 

 

 

 

[Speedo1968]

18 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

Perhaps you have discovered a new sp!  But seriously Speedo...other than Golden-crested, there is no other myna in Thailand that fits your description. As you know, plumage varies between sexes and at particular times...especially breeding season and molt. Doing some digging, have uncovered a few pix with varying amounts of yellow. Do you happen to recall the yellow wing patch? That would be diagnostic. Hope this helps. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again Skeptic7 for your comments and the pics.

 

No, no yellow wing patches just the normal white of the common Asian myna.

 

When I first saw these mynas about 3 years ago, in the same area of land, I looked for similar images online and found only one picture.     In the picture I found the bird looked to be unthrifty but not necessarily sick.   The bird I saw at that time was in fairly good condition, well feathered, no signs of moulting and flew well.  

 

The bird / s I have seen this time, ( actually 2, one full head and all of neck yellow the other bird all of head yellow ), on a few occasions at around the same time of day were in excellent condition.    The birds were in a small flock feeding in a field.   Everything about the birds was myna, its stance, its movements, its activity, its behaviour.     I could see clearly as they were only a few metres away.    

 

I have attached three photos found online, one of the bloggers shows pictures of a bald myna and another with yellow head and neck.    All pics seem to be have taken in Malaysia.    Dave Blackwell ( blogger ) says that the lack of feathering can / could be due to a twice yearly moult.    I agree this is possible, as its condition shown in the photo is better than that of a bird that has lost feathers due to lice or illness / malnutrition.    

 

I have many years of working with ducks and chickens as well as other animals in many countries.    Some of the crosses to improve breeding / commercial birds often throw up strange, normally unwanted and certainly not expected results.     The selection process takes up to 5 years depending on species, if it doesn't work one has to start all over again.     Presumably the yellow feathered mynas I have seen suffer no bad effects from such crossing and they are not rejected by other mynas in the same flock.   Guess there is just a throw back in the birds genes.

 

Still waiting to see the return of these two birds whose coloring is different from other mynas seen.    The legs are very pale, almost white and the birds have white flashes to their eyes, not yellow.     Could anyone tell me if these are the colorings of immature birds or a genetic trait ?     Can't find any pics on line, everything about the bird is myna.

 

Have been in same house for a number of years, originally only a few sparrows / families, gradually the numbers grew and there were 3 different species.    Within the groups some families had very pale almost white feathering, over time the whiteness of feathering has become more with the next generation.     Same with very dark almost black feathering.

I would assume that the birds are interbreeding possibly due to having a good watering hole ( + feed ) and so are not spreading out into the wider population.      Don't know how long it would take for a "new" line to appear, with farmed birds it takes 5 years including human selection for specific traits.

 

Today I saw for the first time a White Breasted Waterhen  just a few metres from my house in the garden.

 

 

 

 

[AjarnNorth]

You are unlikely to see a "new" line of sparrow to appear in your lifetime. What you are almost surely seeing is Eurasian-tree, which favor nesting in houses and buildings, light fixtures, etc. - Plain-backed, which favor trees in fields - and House Sparrow, a colonizing species that has made its way from the western edges of Thailand in the early 90s to almost all parts of the country and now up into Laos.

 

Also, your strange Myna mystery seems to have been solved. As I mentioned a few posts ago, yes, I have seen a fair share of "bald" mynas, usually Common, over the years. However, I would guess it's not a part of the moulting process of all Mynas otherwise we'd all be seeing it much more often. I see Common Mynas every day at my home and at my place of work and in other locations I have lived in Thailand and have seen very few "bald" ones. The jury is out as to whether it's a vitamin deficiency, a result of mites of some sort, or etc. If you find conclusive research to argue one or the other cause I would love to see it. 

 

Had you mentioned that your "Yellow-headed" birds had no head plumage that would have been a shorter conversation. 

 

I don't know what you mean by, "Guess there was a throwback in the birds genes," but that is also unlikely.

 

Thailand is observed my hundreds and hundreds of people. It is very well documented and researched and a lot of that information is found in a few books that would serve anyone well who is interested in IDing birds anywhere in the country. There is also a periodical put out by the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, though it is mostly in Thai. And they have facebook sites where one can submit phot records for ID help and etc. 

 

There are surprises still to be found, though they USUALLY tend to be in the way of behavior or range extension. This doesn't rule out the possibility of bigger surprises, though, but new species are unlikely from the garden. I once went on a hunt for a "strange sparrow" in Isaan based on a video clip of a captured bird that seemed to have an odd call. We were given the location and drove out there but were unsuccessful in our attempts to turn up anything in the area other than Eurasian-tree, disappointingly.  

 

If you had a decent guide book this would help you a lot. The more you look the more you will learn. But the more information you find out about the possibilities in your area based on what is known of range of this or that species, variations in plumage, etc. and so on, the faster you will get to point of being able to make on-spot IDs without all that much question, except in the case of very difficult species such as warblers, accipiters, and etc.  

 

 

Edited April 30, 2018 by AjarnNorth

[BLACKJACK2]

2 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

 

Today I saw for the first time a White Breasted Waterhen  just a few metres from my house in the garden.

Think you've been lucky there, last year was the first year they've nested in our garden, the pond is about 50yds from the house, I could watch them from the house but straight away as I stepped in the garden they disappeared, could never get a decent photo and never found the nest.

[jak2002003]

26 minutes ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

Think you've been lucky there, last year was the first year they've nested in our garden, the pond is about 50yds from the house, I could watch them from the house but straight away as I stepped in the garden they disappeared, could never get a decent photo and never found the nest.

Those water hens in my garden got really tame and I could hand feed them.  One year they had several little black chicks and walked them right up to us.

 

They got tame because they saw people about every day.. and the birds also liked to steal my chickens food from the feeder.  They would come running with the free range bantams I have to eat their rations!  They even nested in a mango tree overhanging the chicken coop.

 

One day I saw one in our swimming pool... actually at the bottom of the deep end swimming underwater the entire length of the pool, then get out the other side!  I had no idea they could swim underwater like a cormorant. Only bad thing about them was they liked to paddle around the edge of the swimming pool and leave piles of nasty bird droppings there.. which was not nice when we wanted to borrow the swimming pool off them.  

 

[jak2002003]

1 hour ago, AjarnNorth said:

Had you mentioned that your "Yellow-headed" birds had no head plumage that would have been a shorter conversation. 

I wish 'speedo1968' said the birds were bald in the first place?!  It would have been the obvious thing to say straight away.. the main feature of the his unusual bird was there were bald, not that they had yellow heads.  Even people (including me) showing him photos of the yellow crested myna bird, he does not mention the lack of any feathering on the birds heads.

 

They are just common myna birds with a disease, probably mites.

 

I am a qualified zoologist.  I can say with certainty this is not a result of 'genetic throwback' or a cross / hybrid or any kind.  They are not the same as domesticated chickens in their genetics either.  It's easy for us to breed lines of different coloured or shaped chickens.. because they have be selectively bred for thousands of years by humans.

 

The only way for the myna birds to get a population of birds all with bald heads from their genetics would be for that population to in total isolation from all other myna birds on the same species, and interbreed for many years together with the bird that had a genetic mutation for a bald head.    This could not happen here in Thailand.... perhaps if a few got onto an isolated island hundreds of miles out at sea it could happen in the future.   

 

 

[Skeptic7]

4 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

6 hours ago, AjarnNorth said:

Had you mentioned that your "Yellow-headed" birds had no head plumage that would have been a shorter conversation. 

 

 

4 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

I wish 'speedo1968' said the birds were bald in the first place?!  It would have been the obvious thing to say straight away.. the main feature of the his unusual bird was there were bald, not that they had yellow heads.  Even people (including me) showing him photos of the yellow crested myna bird, he does not mention the lack of any feathering on the birds heads.

Hear hear! Me too. And AN even anticipated and mentioned "bald birds"  I then responded that while I hadn't seen it here yet, but observed many times in The States with Cardinals and Blue Jays. 

 

From the Bird Ecology Study Group:

“Despite the common occurrence of bald-headed Common Mynas, very little is known on its cause. Moulting, fighting, nutrient deficiencies, and mites could be some of the causes that may contribute to the shedding of feathers. Coincidentally, on the same day that this Javan Myna was sighted, a Common Myna with a balding head was also seen. Except for its crown, this Common Myna had lost almost all its head feathers."

 

For a full read: Baldness in Common Mynas Acridotheres tristis and Rose-ringed Parakeets Psittacula krameri in India

http://indianbirds.in/pdfs/Kasambe_etal_Baldness.pdf

[Speedo1968]

On 4/30/2018 at 1:54 PM, BLACKJACK2 said:

Think you've been lucky there, last year was the first year they've nested in our garden, the pond is about 50yds from the house, I could watch them from the house but straight away as I stepped in the garden they disappeared, could never get a decent photo and never found the nest.

I live on the outskirts of a small village outside a small town.

The area is sandy and marshy.    A local govt. keep fit park was built on part of this marshy land so lots of ponds etc around.   Buffalo and cows sometimes graze / wallow.    The locals hunt frogs, crabs and what looks like shrimp.

 

Taking my early morning walk 4.30 - 5.30am along the road next to the park I now have to be careful not to tread on frogs, toads, crabs, scorpions, snakes etc, following recent frequent and heavy rains.    Maybe I should were a miners helmet with a light like the local frog catchers do !        The last few days hundreds of flying ants ( ? ) that mass under the couple of street lamps on the 400mtr stretch of road make a tasty meal for many.

 

Yes, I was lucky, like your bird it didn't stay long and headed to the fruit trees and grass opposite my house.

Have never seen this bird in this location before.

 

[Bredbury Blue]

Not exactly birds IN MY GARDEN but we're just back from our annual school holiday in (Soi Dao and) Ko Chang, where i got quite a buzz from watching two birds in particular, which to my non-expert eyes were White-bellied Sea Eagles and Brahminy Kites we saw often and in many places around the island.