Greater Painted Snipe rescue and release

I had 1 day off to settle my water account matter with AirSelangor and was busy shopping for groceries when I saw messages from my Sarawak friend about a lost wild bird. Her friend had found a wild snipe species in her house in Shah Alam. With some time to spare in the afternoon, I volunteered to drop by her house in Bukit Rimau, Shah Alam to assist. Elian (Julianna's friend) found the bird, dazed with feathers scattered all over her room early in the morning. It was caught by one of her cats, survived that encounter and Elian placed it safely in a cage (for her pet dog) away from her two dogs and cat. She had fed it some water and when I reached her house from KL, the snipe was frozen still inside the cage. It was still spooked and was trying to wriggle itself free when I held it for a few seconds to look for any injuries. It had a slightly swollen left eye. Other than that, it looked healthy and had pooped a bit in the cage. I held it for a second time whilst transferring it into a 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft box, whilst Elian hugged her cat, keeping it at a safe distance away from the snipe. We covered the top of box with a piece of matting giving the snipe enough breathing space. I could hear it moving about in box whilst I was driving from Bukit Rimau Residential area to Shah Alam Botanical Gardens, which had a patch of paddyfields (for educational/recreational purpose). Driving to the nearest agricultural paddyfields would take more than 1 hour. That was a long journey in a box for a snipe which was not worth the risk.

The Snipe was spreading its wings and looked restless inside the box. I placed the box on the ground in an area with tallest grasses at the Botanical Gardens, with paddyfield behind and a big pond nearby. The Snipe walked straight into the grasses and disappeared in a matter of minutes. After checking with friends and looking through Craig Robson's Field Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia (2000 edition), the rescued Snipe was a male Greater Painted Snipe. Wetlands such as paddyfields are its usual habitat. Greater Painted Snipe (male) with its chick were seen walking in the paddyfields of Batang Tiga, Malacca during a 2016 trip which you can read HERE. A short video of the Greater Painted Snipe below (before it was released). It was an unexpected and incidental bird for me that afternoon. May Mother Nature extend its life for a long time to come, until it reaches its final (paddyfield? or other wetlands?) destination.      

Rail Good Time in Malacca

 

Sungai Rambai (borders two States namely Malacca and Johor) and Batang Tiga are well-known for their birdlife particularly waterbirds such as ducks, rails, snipes and waders like the Wood Sandpiper. I had the rare Sunday afternoon to spare in looking out for some of these. The Slaty-breasted Rail was the last waterbird sighted in Malacca. Slaty-breasted Rail was also spotted before in Sungai Rambai, when Wild Bird Club Malaysia made a trip to Malacca back in 2016. More about this trip can be read HERE. I've also seen the White-browed Crake in Sungai Rambai, and this crake was smaller than the White-breasted Waterhen. Both crake and waterhen occupied the same ditch, with the latter chasing the smaller crake away from its territory.  

 Seeing this Slaty-breasted Rail reminded me of the Okinawa Rail (illustration above is sourced from IUCN website, with Copyright under Del Hoyo), which unlike the former, has a much gloomier future in terms of its survival. The Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus Okinawae) is categorized as an Endangered Species under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) List. The Okinawa Rail is described as below in eBird portal, with calls that are termed as "terrifying":-

A candy-red bill, curving white head stripe, and lacey black-and-white striping make this a unique and attractive species. Found only in and around the Yanbaru Forest on Okinawa Island, where it forages on the forest floor, often in pairs or small flocks. Most frequently seen as it crosses roads, trails, and clearings. Gives a variety of different calls, typically given during dusk, dawn, or nighttime hours. All are somewhat terrifying, a medley of shrill yelps, high-pitched squeals, and a laughter-like clattering.

More information about this endemic Rail species of Okinawa is available HERE. The Yanbaru forest of Okinawa Island in Japan, is home to this special Rail. This Okinawa Rail, known locally as "Agashi" prefers to roost in gently sloping branches of forest trees. A total of 111 bird species including the endemics such as this Rail, Okinawa Woodpecker, Amami Woodcock are described in a pamphlet on Birds of Yanbaru Forest, Okinawa. It is currently one of my bedtime reading material, with the hope that all 111 birds will appear in my dreams. Visiting Japan and the Yanbaru forests of Okinawa to see these birds would definitely be a dream come true for me.