Bulletin 345 - China 2019 #3 - Bulbuls, vireo, crow, magpie

I had a brief trip to SW China and managed a few days birding. I was particularly interested in 2 critically endangered primates there, as well as a new bird species discovered about a decade ago.

Bulbuls are a large (153 species) Old World family of birds, so one can find several species on any trip to Africa or the Orient. I photographed 3 new species on the trip. The first is the 8" Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus). The subspecies I saw is all black with a red bill, and legs. Interestingly as you can see from the species name, there are subspecies with white heads.

Black Bulbul

Next is the 9" White-throated Bulbul (Alophoixus flaveolus). This is a brown backed bird with yellowish breast and white throat and a nice bushy crest. The range of the bird is Himalayas to Thailand and just barely makes it into southern China. The Birds of China says it is an occasional bird in limited range of China. So it was a treat to find it.

White-throated Bulbul

Last is the 7" Black-crested Bulbul (Pycnonotus flaviventris). It is a yellow bird with a black head and crest.

Black-crested Bulbul

The corvidae family (134 species) consists of crows, jays and magpies. Crows are familiar and mostly all black birds so nothing special to look at. I saw the 20" Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos).

Large-billed Crow

More interesting are the long tailed magpies. The 19" White-winged Magpie (Urocissa whiteheadi). This is a black and white bird with bold white wing patches and white tip of the tail. It is listed as endangered with a declining population. The Birds of China says this bird is recorded only sporadically in mainland China. This pair was attracted to a feeding station by some meat that can be seen on the branch.

White-winged Magpie

And the pair on the branch.

White-winged Magpie

The 64 species vireo family are all in the New World except for 10 species. I saw my first one in the Old World on this trip. The 5" White-bellied Erpornis (Erpornis zantholeuca) is olive above and grayish below. He has a bushy crest. It is a monotypic genus and was formerly called the White-bellied Yuhina and was considered to be in the babbler family until 2008.

White-bellied Erpornis
previously called White-bellied Yuhina

I put the different bird families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 14 of the 153 species of  bulbuls

I have photos of 41 of the 134 species of crows, jays, magpies

I have photos of 24 of the 64 species of vireos


Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2019 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 344 - China 2019 #2 - Nonggang Babbler and non passerines

I guess I am partial to rare birds and animals . I do not mind passing up a lot of common ones to see rarities. Such was this trip to see the langur in the last bulletin.

In southwestern China close by the Vietnam border is the Nonggang Natural Reserve, established initially for 2 primates including the langur we saw last time. A new bird was discovered there in 2005 and accepted in 2008. The Nonggang Babbler (Stachyris nonggangensis) is a songbird that spends most of its time on the ground searching for insects.

It is a 6" brownish and gray bird with a white throat patch and distinctive white crescent on the cheek. It has a pale iris. 

Nonggang Babbler

Many of the people who live near the reserve have set up feeding stations for visiting birders, so my guide and I were able to visit one of these and see the birds close up. They attract the insect eating birds with some grubs. This is an easy bird to see in the right place haha. One can see the yellow grubs on the rock.

Nonggang Babbler

After observing them being fed for 15 minutes, the birds flew back into the forest and perched about 15 feet away to wait for more food.

Nonggang Babbler

The bird is listed a vulnerable due to its restricted range in the reserve. There is similar habitat across the border in Vietnam, so it may occur there as well. The IOC actually does list it in both countries. This bird was definitely the highlight of the trip along with the primate.

I photographed 2 new woodpeckers. The first is the 8" Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus). It is a reddish brown woodpecker. The male has a red cheek patch.

Rufous Woodpecker - male

The 3.5" White-browed Piculet (Sasia ochracea) is listed as uncommon, so to get a photo perched in the open was fantastic. It has an olive back and orange below. This is a female with the rufous forehead. The male would have a yellow forehead. Of interest, it only has 3 toes, rather then most woodpeckers with 4 toes.

White-browed Piculet - female

The only falcon was the 13" Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). This is a male with the brown back and gray cap.

Common Kestrel - male

The 9" Collared Scops-Owl (Otus lettia) is a small gray owl with a thin sandy collar.

Collared Scops-Owl

I put the different bird families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 5 of the 55 species of  scimitar babblers

I have photos of 54 of the 234 species of woodpeckers

I have photos of 14 of the 65 species of falcons

I have photos of 32 of the 216 species of typical owls

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2019 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.