Sunda Archipelago 2023

Here are some of the birds Ethan managed to photograph on Java, Bali, Lombok, and Flores.

Ethan more than doubled his Scops-Owl total in Indonesia. This is the volcano-dwelling Javan Scops-Owl.  

This big, nasty Wallace’s Scops-Owl showed up during Ethan’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to photograph the Flores Scops-Owl. At least he got a to see a bird named after noted phrenology enthusiast Alfred Russel Wallace to celebrate crossing the Wallace Line for the first time. 

This very special boy is a Rinjani Scops-Owl, the only endemic bird on the island of Lombok.

The genetic freak on the left is the Aberrant Bush Warbler (s.s. volcanius). It used to be its own species but it got lumped a few years back. On the right is the Javan endemic Pygmy Bushtit.

A pair of very nice Javan Endemics. On the left is the highly range restricted Gray-Breasted Partridge and on the right is the White-Bibbed Babbler, the handsomest Timaliid Babbler. 

Here are some fairly rare (fewer than 1000 Ebird observations) birds from Java. From left to right: The Tawny-Breasted Parrotfinch, the Javan Trogon, and the elusive Mountain Serin.

On the left is the Rufous-Backed Dwarf Kingfisher, described by Ebird as “unbelievably cute.” On the right is the Sacred Kingfisher, known for hanging around graveyards and controlling the tides.

This Javan Blue-Banded Kingfisher is the rarest bird Ethan has seen to date. Birds don’t get much rarer than this guy.

Ethan spent some time crawling after plovers on Bali getting this Javan Plover (left) and Malaysian Plover (right).

Not the coolest looking stork but after seeing this endangered boy (Milky Stork) Ethan has seen over half of the Ciconiids. 

This fierce Javan Hawk-Eagle is probably the first bird that has made Ethan feel fear. It snuck up behind him before swooping over his head and making him thankful that the Haast’s Eagle no more.

Some sweet, brave, little Tesias who ventured (mostly) out of the bushes to say hello. On the left the Russet-Capped Tesia and on the right the Javan Tesia.

Here are some endangered birds from Flores. From left to right: The Flores Monarch, the Flores Crow, and the Chestnut-Capped Thrush. Get well soon boys.

On the left is the Javan Whistling-Thrush and on the right is the Barred Dove which Ethan almost missed because he forgot that they existed for some reason and thought it was a Zebra Dove at a distance.

I think Ethan was a bit underwhelmed by the Indian Peafowl. They are so common and he has seen so many of them that he just views them as fancy chickens at this point. This Green Peafowl on the other hand, Ethan found very exciting. He is endangered, he has a much cooler crest, and best of all he has badass neck scales.

Here he is doing his display. Note the puffed up neck. 

He even looks cool from behind. 

Ethan thought it was sort of weird seeing these guys in the wild. On the left is a pet shop staple, the Zebra Finch, and on the right the critically endangered Bali Myna.

Now this is something that you don’t see very often. A rare view of the normally very shy Barred Cuckoo-Dove.

Ethan’s first Buttonquail was this Barred Buttonquail.

Imagine a living jewel crafted by the masterful hands of nature, a miniature marvel that dances on the cusp of imagination and reality. The buttonquail, a creature of enchanting elegance, defies expectations with its diminutive stature, akin to a whimsical secret whispered among the grasses.

Clad in feathers that wear the hues of earth’s most delicate brushstrokes, the buttonquail’s plumage seems to have been kissed by the morning mist and painted by twilight’s gentle touch. Its rounded form, a harmonious fusion of grace and compactness, navigates the world with a charming determination, as if it were a piece of stardust that found its way to earthly realms.

In its vigilant obsidian eyes, one might glimpse the reflection of ancient landscapes and forgotten whispers. With every careful step, it orchestrates a silent symphony of discovery, treading the path less taken, reminding us that within the tiniest of frames resides the grandeur of existence.

A symphony of avian curiosity, the buttonquail’s life unfolds like the pages of a magical storybook, where the chapters are written in the language of feathers and the illustrations are etched in the memory of each dew-kissed morning. This exquisite creature, a treasure of the terrestrial tapestry, enchants the observer not with flamboyance, but with the elegance of subtlety – a reminder that the most wondrous tales often reside in the whispers of the overlooked.

I tried outsourcing this one to ChatGTP and this is what it came up with.

 

One of the best parts of Flores was the variety of White-Eyes that Ethan found. Clockwise from the top left: The Flores White-Eye, the Cream-Browed White-Eye, the Yellow-Spectacled White-Eye, and the Mountain White-Eye.

On the left is the ubiquitous Olive-Backed Sunbird. On the right is the much more exciting White-Flanked Sunbird, endemic to the highlands of Java. 

Here is a Scaly Thrush (s.s. horsfieldi). Someday it might grow up to be its own species which would give Ethan an “armchair lifer” but also force him to go back to using his bad, old photo Scaly Thrush photo he took in India. 

After the frankly hideous Mangrove Whistler eluded him for months, Ethan finally got his first members of the family Pachycephalidae on Flores and they actually looked cool. On the left is the Rusty-Breasted Whistler and on the right is the female Bare-Throated Whistler.

Some blue birds. On the left is the Indigo Flycatcher and on the right is the Blue Nuthatch which Ebird rightfully proclaims as the “bluest nuthatch.”

And finally, some critically endangered Yellow-Crested Cockatoos observed on Komodo Island (along with a bunch of drugged dragons).