The principle purpose for birders to remain in a single day at Kotamobagu is to see the Maleo on the Tambun Maleo Sanctuary – the topic of a separate publish. However there are additionally just a few fascinating birds on the best way between Kotamobagu and the sanctuary.
And even within the car parking zone of my lodge. Searching of the window within the morning, I predictably noticed a number of Eurasian Tree Sparrows. If the Sulawesi Tree Sparrow is ever acknowledged as a separate species, it will likely be a simple addition to the life listing I do probably not preserve.
The following species noticed searching of my window was the equally ubiquitous Sooty-headed Bulbul.
Extra curiously, the car parking zone was additionally used as a foraging floor by a number of Barred Rails. To see them, I needed to step out on the balcony of my room.
These birds in all probability usually are not conscious of their HBW entry describing them as “very shy and retiring”. Or the HBW standards for being shy and retiring are considerably free.
The lodge had some flowering vegetation, attracting Sahul Sunbirds.
The Sahul Sunbird was previously thought of a subspecies of the olive-backed sunbird which has been renamed Backyard Sunbird.
(I nonetheless shudder once I hear papers speaking about, for instance, the “Olive-backed Sunbird advanced”)
Its vary stretches from Sulawesi east to the northern Moluccas, New Guinea, and northeastern Australia.
Presumably, Sahul refers back to the Sahul Shelf, part of the continental shelf of the Australian continent, mendacity off the northwest coast of mainland Australia.
Nevertheless, for me, essentially the most fascinating species within the car parking zone was the Java Sparrow.
It’s listed as Endangered in its native Java, however its total standing is considerably paradoxical (supply: HBW) as it is not uncommon in a lot of its launched ranges (which presumably consists of Sulawesi) however its native inhabitants has declined severely resulting from trapping for the cage fowl commerce.
The scientific title Padda oryzivora sounds a bit extra fascinating than it’s – it simply means rice-eating.
Whereas ready at a fuel station, I noticed two munia species that had been really consuming rice: Black-faced Munia …
… and Chestnut Munia.
A Hair-crested Drongo was seen having breakfast, or possibly (if it obtained up early and was a little bit of a Yuppie) brunch.
It appears to be like fairly totally different from the one I generally see in Shanghai – however then, life is simply too quick to trouble with subspecies.
Passing by rice paddies and fields introduced Purple Heron …
… and Javan Pond Heron.
Heronconservation.org makes the fowl sound like a depressing loner: “As a typical pond heron it’s a lonely, cryptic species”.
The significance of rice paddies for this and different species is highlighted in this paper.
Cattle Egrets generally look grumpy as they resent dwelling subsequent to cattle on a regular basis. I can type of perceive.
The Striated Herons I noticed steered properly away from livestock …
… however as an alternative accepted dwelling subsequent to a whole lot of trash.
It’s the heron with the biggest geographic plumage variation (supply) – the HBW lists 28 subspecies.
The Lesser Coucal is among the fowl species Sulawesi shares with Shanghai …
… whereas sadly, we shouldn’t have Collared Kingfishers in my hometown.
Lastly, there have been two swallows, one actual (Pacific Swallow) …
… (birds which are apparently fairly troublesome to catch, see right here for an amusing report) …
… and one not fairly (White-breasted Woodswallow), as regardless of their title, woodswallows belong to a special household than swallows. It’s much like some individuals being known as Truthers with out this having any relation with the reality.
eBird calls it a chunky fowl and thus might not be invited to any occasions hosted by the species. No, I’m not deducing this from my very own expertise of calling a feminine acquaintance chunky.
