Birds Thru My Eyes : MALAYSIA

Sunday, 9 August 2026

Rufous-fronted Babbler

Order - Passeriformes
Family - Timaliidae (Scimitar-babblers and allies)

Rufous-fronted Babbler

Cyanoderma rufifrons

红额穗鹛 (hóng-é suì-méi)

Malay : Kekicau-Kecil Api Selatan

Japanese : ノドフズアカチメドリ (nodo-fu zu-aka chime-dori)
  Kanji 日語漢字 : 喉斑頭赤知目鳥

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 8,480,000km²
  Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : rufifrons group & ambiguum group - overall length 12cm; 9–12g

Subspecies (9) and Distribution

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Rufous-fronted Babbler (Buff-chested) Cyanoderma rufifrons [ambiguum Group]

Cyanoderma rufifrons ambiguum (Harington, HH 1915)
– Northern and eastern India (Sikkim and northern West Bengal east throughout the northeast states; north Eastern Ghats in eastern Odisha and northeast Andhra Pradesh), Bhutan, eastern Bangladesh, and northwest Myanmar; probably in adjacent southeast Tibet.
Cyanoderma rufifrons planicola (Mayr, E 1941)
– Spans northern Myanmar to northwestern Yunnan, in southwest China.
Cyanoderma rufifrons adjunctum (Deignan, HG 1939)
– From southern China, in northwest Yunnan and southwest Guangxi, to northern Thailand and northern and central Laos, and northern Vietnam (West Tonkin and North Annam).
Cyanoderma rufifrons insuspectum (Deignan, HG 1939)
– Long thought to be endemic to southern Laos, but there is a single record in far northeast Cambodia, at Siem Pang (Stung Treng) in November 2006, and it seems likely to also occur in Virachey National Park (Ratanakiri).

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Rufous-fronted Babbler (Rufous-fronted) Cyanoderma rufifrons [rufifrons Group]

Cyanoderma rufifrons pallescens (Ticehurst, CB 1932)
– Confined to southwestern Myanmar.
Cyanoderma rufifrons rufifrons (Hume, AO 1873)
– From southeast Myanmar (northern Tenasserim) to northwest and western Thailand, from the western portion of the northern plateau to the southwestern provinces (Kanchanaburi).
Cyanoderma rufifrons obscurum (Stuart Baker, EC 1917)
– Southern Peninsular Thailand.
Cyanoderma rufifrons poliogaster (Hume, AO 1880)
– The most widespread of the taxa, poliogaster occurs from southernmost Peninsular Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra, and across northern and central Borneo.
Cyanoderma rufifrons sarawacense (Chasen, FN 1939)
– Occurs in western Borneo (Mann 2008).

Distribution Map

Cyanoderma rufifrons poliogaster
Date : 25 July 2026

Location : Taman Eko Rimba Kledang Saiong, Bandar Meru Raya, Daerah Kinta, Perak

Wednesday, 5 August 2026

White-crowned Forktail

Order - Passeriformes
Family - Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers and Chats)

White-crowned Forktail

Enicurus leschenaulti

白额燕尾 (bái é yàn-wěi) / 白冠燕尾 (bái-guān yàn-wěi) /
白顶黑背燕尾 (bái-dǐng hēi-bèi yàn-wěi)

Malay : Cegar Raya Biasa

Japanese : エンビシキチョウ (enbi shiki-chō)

Kanji 日語漢字 : 燕尾四季鳥

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 12,600,000km²
  Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : 25–28cm; 27–38g (up to 53g also reported)

Subspecies (5) and Distribution

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

White-crowned Forktail (Northern) Enicurus leschenaulti sinensis/indicus

Enicurus leschenaulti indicus (Hartert, EJO 1910)
– Eastern Himalayas (from Sikkim and northern West Bengal) east to Myanmar, southern China (Yunnan), western, northern, and eastern Thailand and Indochina.
Enicurus leschenaulti sinensis (Gould, J 1866)
– Southern and eastern China (east from extreme eastern Qinghai, southern Gansu, and Sichuan to Zhejiang and Guangdong), including Hainan.

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

White-crowned Forktail (Malaysian) Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis/chaseni

Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis (Blyth, E 1847)
– Central and southern Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Nias Island, and lowland Borneo.
Enicurus leschenaulti chaseni (Meyer de Schauensee, R 1940)
– Batu Islands, off western Sumatra.

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

White-crowned Forktail (Javan) Enicurus leschenaulti leschenaulti

Enicurus leschenaulti leschenaulti (Vieillot, LJP 1818)
– Java and Bali.

Distribution Map

Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis
Date : 02 August 2026

Location : Taman Eko Rimba Kledang Saiong, Bandar Meru Raya, Daerah Kinta, Perak

Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis
Date : 02 August 2026

Location : Taman Eko Rimba Kledang Saiong, Bandar Meru Raya, Daerah Kinta, Perak

Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis
Date : 25 July 2026

Location : Taman Eko Rimba Kledang Saiong, Bandar Meru Raya, Daerah Kinta, Perak

Enicurus leschenaulti frontalis
Date : 18 July 2026

Location : Taman Eko Rimba Kledang Saiong, Bandar Meru Raya, Daerah Kinta, Perak

Sunday, 23 November 2025

Black-headed Ibis

Order - Pelecaniformes
Family - Threskiornithidae (Ibises, Spoonbills)

Black-headed Ibis

Threskiornis melanocephalus

黑头白鹮 (cǎi-huán)

Malay : Sekendi Kepala Hitam Asia

Japanese : クロトキ (Kuro-toki)

Kanji 日語漢字 : 黒朱鷺

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 11,210,000km²
  Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : 65–76 cm; 1000–1500 g; Wingspan 130 cm

Subspecies and Distribution

Monotypic. (Latham, J 1790, India. Nepal, India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), southern Manchuria south)
– Breeds from Pakistan (S Sind) and Nepal through India to Sri Lanka; probably NE China (Heilongjiang); also Cambodia, S Vietnam, Java and possibly Sumatra. Winters in S China, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra and Philippines. Formerly more widespread in E Asia.

Distribution Map

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Date : 22 November 2025

Location : Penaga Paddyfield, Mukim 4, Daerah Seberang Perai Utara, Pulau Pinang

Tuesday, 7 October 2025

Arctic Tern

Order - Charadriiformes
Family - Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Skimmers)

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaea

北极燕鸥 (běi-jí yàn-ōu)

Malay : Camar Artik

Japanese : キョクアジサシ (kyoku aji-sashi)

Kanji 日語漢字 : 極鯵刺

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 64,800,000km²
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) : 126,000,000km²
  Migratory Status : Full Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : 28–39 cm; 90–120 g; Wingspan 65–75 cm

Subspecies and Distribution

Monotypic. (No type locality = Christiansoe, Denmark, ex Brünnich, Orn. Boreal., 1764, p. 46.)
– Circumpolar breeding range, from shores of Arctic Ocean south, in some coastal areas, to 41°N. Nests widely inland in Far North, generally north of range of Common Tern, but the 2 species overlap along w. Atlantic coast south of 52°N. In nonbreeding season, occurs principally around Antarctica during austral summer; widespread during migration (observed principally at sea).

Distribution Map

1st Malaysia Record !!!
Found by Christopher Neil Gibbins on 28 September 2025

Date : 05 October 2025

Location : Gold Coast Morib, Banting, Daerah Kuala Langat, Selangor

Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Malayan Crestless Fireback

Order - Galliformes
Family - Phasianidae (Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse)

Malayan Crestless Fireback

Lophura erythrophthalma

马来亚棕尾火背鹇 (mǎ-lái-yà zōng-wěi huǒ-bèi xián)

Malay : Pegar Bertam

Japanese : ウチワキジ [erythrophthalma] (uchiwa-kiji [erythrophthalma])

Kanji 日語漢字 : 棕尾火背鹇

  Extent of Occurrence (resident/breeding) : 82,000km²
  Migratory Status : Not a Migrant
  Breeding Endemic : No

Size : Male 47–50 cm (tail 15–18 cm); mean weight of males was 1,043 g (n = 2)

Female 42–44 cm (tail 14–16 cm), 837 g

Subspecies and Distribution

Monotypic. (Raffles, TS 1822, Sumatra)
Occurs on the Thai-Malay Peninsula and on Sumatra. Its northern distributional limit, however, is rather peculiar for a Sundaic species, with species reaching only to southern Johor, Malaysia, rather than southern peninsular Thailand. Wells speculated this may be the result of ecological interactions (i.e., competitive exclusion) with the Malayan Crested Fireback (Lophura rufa); however, this hypothesis remains to be tested. Nineteenth-century specimens from Singapore and the Penang islands are suspected to have involved traded captive individuals. On Sumatra, the species is confined to the eastern lowlands.

Distribution Map

Date : 21 June 2025
Location : Lorong Pegawai, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Daerah Timur Laut, Pulau Pinang

Wednesday, 7 May 2025

Brown-streaked Flycatcher

Order - Passeriformes
Family - Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers and Chats)

Brown-streaked Flycatcher

Muscicapa williamsoni

褐纹鹟 (hè wén wēng)

Malay : Sambar-Kusam Lorek Melayu
Japanese : ミナミコサメビタキ (minami ko-same-bitaki)
Kanji 日語漢字 : 南小鮫鶲

Size : 12–14 cm; 7.8–16 g

Subspecies (2) and Distribution

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Brown-streaked Flycatcher (Brown-streaked) Muscicapa williamsoni williamsoni

Muscicapa williamsoni williamsoni (Deignan, HG 1957)
– SE Myanmar (S Tenasserim) and S Thailand S to NW Peninsular Malaysia; non-breeding also S to Singapore and Sumatra, and W Borneo.

EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Brown-streaked Flycatcher (Umber) Muscicapa williamsoni umbrosa

Muscicapa williamsoni umbrosa (Wells, DR 1982)
– NE Borneo (NE Sabah and possibly Brunei and E Kalimantan).