Such an adorable bird family. We were lucky to capture four different species in Kenya. I absolutely love the way these birds look, they are incredibly charming.
This was our very first Sandgrouse of the Kenya tour, standing right in the middle of the road after sunset. The light was extremely low, but we kept pressing the shutter to capture this rare moment. Truly a beautiful bird.
Such a beautiful bird. I always thought barbets mainly feed on fruit, but we observed this species many times feeding on termites, ants, and other small insects. That likely explains why we often see them foraging on the ground.
Malaysia smallest state located north of Peninsular Malaysia.
1. Great Eared-Nightjar, 毛腿夜鹰, 毛腿夜鷹, Lyncornis macrotis, オオミミヨタカ, TAPTIBAU BESAR
2. Malayan Banded-Pitta, 马来蓝尾八色鸫, 馬來藍尾八色鶇, Hydrornis irena，マラヤシマヤイロチョウ, BURUNG-PACAT BELANG MELAYU
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1. Great Eared-Nightjar, 毛腿夜鹰, 毛腿夜鷹, Lyncornis macrotis, オオミミヨタカ, TAPTIBAU BESAR
update 202601
It was a long but rewarding day! We spent the first half at a fantastic Malayan Banded Pitta hide, enjoying views of fresh plumage on the pitta and lots of other great birds that came by. In the evening, we decided to try for this special nightjar—perfect timing to put my favorite lens, the Canon RF 400mm F2.8, to use. Even after sunset in very dim light, the fast F2.8 telephoto and the Canon R6 Mark III tracked almost every frame of the bird in flight, with beautiful dusk light in the background. Really loving how it handled this challenging shot!
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今天是漫长但充实的一天！上半场我们在一个很棒的马来蓝尾八色鸫点度过，看/拍到八色鸫漂亮的新羽毛，还有很多其它好看的鸟。傍晚我们决定尝试拍这只特别的夜鹰，这也正好用上了我最喜欢的镜头 Canon RF 400mm F2.8。即使是在日落后光线很暗的情况下，这支 F2.8 长焦镜头搭配 Canon R6 Mark III 仍然把鸟儿飞翔的画面几乎每一帧都追焦得很好，而且背景还有美丽的暮色光，非常满意这次的表现！
202601, Perlis, Malaysia
2. Malayan Banded-Pitta, 马来蓝尾八色鸫, 馬來藍尾八色鶇, Hydrornis irena，マラヤシマヤイロチョウ, BURUNG-PACAT BELANG MELAYU
update 202603
This birding tour has been truly special, with our sights set firmly on the incredible
Pittas. As this journey finally draws to a close, we have just one last stop to make before we head off to Costa Rica. Best of luck to everyone on this final stretch!
Definitely not a lifer—I’ve photographed this species over 50 times! But this is the first time seeing such vibrant colors and such a confiding individual. The bird hide offered an amazing experience with this lovely bird, and everyone was really happy with the results.
This is a stunning female!
Birding in Kenya is filled with unforgettable stories—I’ll share more once I’m back in Malaysia. For now, every day has been full of excitement. While we’re focused on finding new birds and getting better shots, we never miss out on amazing animals or stunning scenery either.
We’ve seen lions three times already! The most recent sighting was a group of seven, though we didn’t even stop (for a funny reason I’ll share later).
This one was incredible—at first, it looked like a typical sleeping lion, but suddenly it stood up, walked to drink, and came straight toward our vehicle—just 15 meters away!
Four more days to go, and we’ve photographed 390 bird species so far!
One of our group members wished to see this, and what a wish—it made everyone happy!
The world’s fastest animal slowly walked toward us, getting as close as 1–2 meters from me. Before that, it looked like it was about to hunt, pausing about 10 meters away as if ready to sprint… but then it stopped.
Still, what an incredible and beautiful sight!
After 10 months, I’m back in Africa — and this time, Kenya offers a completely different experience!
We were already thrilled by a few species from this bird family in South Africa, but here in Kenya, we’re seeing several up close, almost daily. And the best part? They are truly stunning birds!
This bird belongs to a unique and fascinating bird family. Though it’s fairly common, it stands out with its long tail and overall plain brown plumage, decorated with distinctive black speckles.
Here’s another member of this fascinating bird family — clearly named for its striking “red face.” They’re usually seen moving in small, active flocks, often giving great views as they forage together.
This tiny, adorable bird gave us one of the most memorable moments of the tour. After a long and patient chase, it finally came close and low just for a brief moment — offering us the best view of the entire trip!
11. Ivory-backed Woodswallow, 白背燕鵙, 白背燕鵙, Artamus monachus, セレベスモリツバメ, Kekep Sulawesi
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11. Ivory-backed Woodswallow, 白背燕鵙, 白背燕鵙, Artamus monachus, セレベスモリツバメ, Kekep Sulawesi
update 202512
This is one of those birds that often gets overlooked, as it closely resembles the White-breasted Woodswallow. But this time, we were lucky to get a clear, eye-level view. A great Sulawesi endemic!
1. Hylocitrea, 林啸鹟, 橙脇嘯鶇, Hylocitrea bonensis, Hylocitrea bonensis, Kancilan Buah
The hylocitrea, also known as the yellow-flanked whistler or olive-flanked whistler, is a species of bird that is endemic to montane forests on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It is monotypic within the genus Hylocitrea, and has traditionally been considered a member of the family Pachycephalidae, but recent genetic evidence suggests it should be placed in a monotypic subfamily of the family Bombycillidae, or even its own family, Hylocitreidae. A 2019 study found it to be a sister group to a clade containing the hypocolius (Hypocoliidae) and the extinct Hawaiian honeyeaters (Mohoidae), with the clade containing all three being a sister group to the silky-flycatchers (Ptiliogonatidae). The divergences forming these families occurred in the early Miocene, about 20-23 million years ago.
Our main target at Lore Lindu turned out to be not as tough as we expected. We managed to see it twice, and both sightings were not high up in the canopy. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn’t ideal, making the photos appear a bit dull—but still a great bird to observe!
It’s a huge bird with a brightly colored head. I missed it during my last trip, but this time I finally got to see two—moving around almost like pets, even with names! Really happy to finally see this massive and beautiful bird.
