Thursday, February 27, 2020

Sungai Rambai in the evening

Gray-headed Swamphen in Peninsular Malaysia, with Black-backed Swamphen in Borneo were part of the six (6) species split from the Purple Swamphen species. You can read about Clements 2015 checklist and the updates being done by Cornell Lab, including this split which was based on the different geographic regions at eBird website HERE. Seeing this flock feeding on paddyfields in Sungai Rambai, Malacca as I was about to depart for Muar, was a good ending to a hot day in 2019. Their soft calls and interaction with each other were also delightful to me, as it was like seeing a huge family gathering with each member being cordial to each other.   
Biggest flock of Gray-headed Swamphen congregating at the paddyfields late that evening
Deep blue-ish plumage and reddish bills stood out amongst the green grasses and brown earth.
 
Red-wattled Lapwing on one of the scorched paddyfields
It would be great to have a good sighting and recorded picture of Black-backed Swamphen from Borneo. The Porphyrio genus under which the Swamphen is known taxonomically, also includes the Gallinule species. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species still contains status of the Purple Swamphen. It is listed as Least Concern. Fingers crossed that this status remains for all six species which have been split, for many more years to come for the future generations to marvel in the wild (or semi-wild as in the case of the paddyfields in Sungai Balang).

Tropicbird versus Frigatebirds