A Golden Discovery in the hills of Kuala Lumpur

Hill Myna, which is recorded in eBird Malaysia checklist as Common Hill Myna was a surprise find for me that Sunday evening in Kenny Hills (Bukit Tunku). I was hoping to meet the acquaintance of the Banded woodpeckers which were very vocal and had mesmerized me with their undulating flight patterns in previous short visits to Kenny Hills. Alas, the three woodpeckers did not grace the hills with their presence nor their calls that day. The melodious calls and whistles of the Hill Myna or "Tiung Emas" its Bahasa Malaysia name greeted me instead. Part of its Malay name "Emas" literally means "Golden" and the lappets/wattles around the head of this Myna species are golden yellow indeed. The geographical range of this Hill Myna covers northeast of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia (including Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, excluding the Philippines) and some parts of China, according to eBird Malaysia HERE.  It is also described as having a candle-wax orange bill in eBird and interestingly there are checklists of this Myna species reported in USA and Central America. Checklist for that day is available HERE. Due to the threat of caged bird trade, this Hill Myna has been categorized as a sensitive species by eBird, with location of any sightings in Malaysia, hidden from public view.

A contrast in weather - view from Kenny Hills on a sunny day as opposed to picture below 

Half of the skies above Kenny Hills was covered in rainclouds that Sunday.

Part of the Titiwangsa range that surrounds the Klang Valley was visible from afar with promise of more birdwatching adventures to come once........

Painted Storks were soaring on thermal high up in the skies of Kenny Hills. Five of them to be exact. Three flew off in opposite direction from the two, before the latter disappeared into the horizon. It was a very short walk and I back-tracked to my car when the drizzle turned into heavy rains by 5pm.