Coolest Hill Tortoise is in Fraser Hill July 2015

Impressed Tortoise crossing the Old Gap road on the 4th km to Fraser Hill. Wikipedia has a description of this unique denizen of the forest. Who would have thought tortoises can live in forests! I had a misconception that tortoises only frequent the oceans, rivers & lakes. This is the first time I have ever seen a tortoise in the wild. When I visited Fraser Hill in late 1990s and early 2000s, I met a researcher who was tagging one in WWF's Nature Education Centre. More pictures of this unique species of Tortoise "in action" below. The coolest hill tortoise is in Fraser Hill and I had to admit my mistake in associating it with Spiny Turtle as illustrated in Wikipedia.

A Big Thank You to Ms Pelf from MNS Negeri Sembilan & Malacca for pointing that out to me!

Tortoise in Fraser Hill

More pictures at Coolest Tortoise in Fraser Hill. Sighted on 4th Km of Old Gap Road on a drizzly Saturday afternoon when van in front of me stopped to let this Impressed Tortoise cross the road to safety.

Oriental White Eye

Spotted a pair of Oriental White Eye after hearing their soft "zit-like" calls. Thought they were sunbirds until I saw the white ring around its eye. One of the White Eye perched in the middle of this tree. Saw this pair after 5pm in Bukit Jalil area on a weekday in July 2015. Shot this video with my Samsung Mega. Bulky phone and hand-held so it is shaky video shot of this small bird. Wikipedia has more details of Oriental White Eye.  Lovely to listen to the calls of the Oriental White Eye in Wikipedia website. The pair that I saw didn't sound like that at all though. It was zit-like chirps that I heard.

Coppersmith Barbet in Bukit Jalil Park

Coppersmith Barbet that was seen in Lost World of Tambun, Ipoh, Perak in 2014. Saw this green beauty on 4th July 2015 Saturday evening at Bukit Jalil Park near Children's Playground. Was a hot Saturday that day, glaring sunlight, yet the park was reasonably packed with people and children. 

It was calling away before I spotted it shaking its head and cleaning its beak whilst perched high up on the tree. Lovely green with red spot on the head, it is quite a challenge to spot this barbet when it doesn't move a muscle. It is always a joy to hearing its tuk-tuk sound that is so special to this bird. The barbet's call reminds one of the sounds a coppersmith makes when at work. According to the bird book, that is how this species of barbet got its name.