Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Acrocephalus ("topmost head") orientalis ("of the orient")

Adult Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 18-47g  /  Length: 18-20cm  /  Wingspan: 23-26cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While the name I'd heard in advance made me imagine another small reed-type warbler, this is actually a recent split from the Great Reed Warbler - a giant amongst warblers more on the scale of a redwing - far far bigger than any resident warbler of the UK.  It is highly migratory, breeding in Mongolia, North-East China, Korea, Japan and Siberia, and wintering in South-East Asia where I saw it. 

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Acrocephalus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ចាបដូនតា ("grandfather")

A non-breeding migrant.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Striated Grassbird (Megalurus palustris)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Megalurus ("great tailed") palustris ("marshy")

Adult Striated Grassbird (subspecies M. p. toklao) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Megalurus palustris toklao
Weight: 38-56g  /  Length: 22-28cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Perhaps the name was a bit distracting at the time, but I didn't click until later that this species was a relation of the grasshopper warbler.  In retrospect, this makes sense - it shares a similar shape and plumage pattern to the species I've seen although considerably larger.

Related Species:
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Locustellidae
GENUS: Megalurus
SUBSPECIES: M. p. toklao, M. p. forbesi, M. p. palustris

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ចាបក្រុក ("Sparrow")

A fairly common resident.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Some seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Oriental Skylark (Alauda gulgula)

OTHER NAMES: Small Skylark
Latin Etymology: Alauda ("lark") gulgula (unclear etymology)

Adult Oriental Skylark (subspecies A. g. gulgula) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Alauda gulgula gulgula
Weight: 15g  /  Length: 15-18cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Oriental Skylark is as the name suggests, the equivalent of the Eurasian Skylark of East Asia.  It appears cosmetically similar to them, but a little smaller and more slender.  They seemed to spend their time scurrying alonside the roads, looking for food, having slightly more pipit like behaviour than other larks I've seen.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Alaudidae
Genus: Alauda
SUBSPECIES: A. g. inconspicua, A. g. Ihamarum, A. g. weigoldi, A. g. inopinata, A. g. verynayi, A. g. gulgula, A. g. coelivox, A. g. wattersi

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ក្រូចអុិនកំប៉ោយ

A fairly common resident.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - A some seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum)

OTHER NAMES: Grasshopper-bird, Swallow-Plover
Latin Etymology: Glareola ("gravel") maldivarum ("of the Maldives")

Adult Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 59-95g  /  Length: 23-27cm  /  Wingspan: 46cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The pratincoles are an intriguing family of birds, they are wading birds that have evolved to feed in a swallow like manner by hawking for insects.  The Oriental is a migratory species found mostly in East Asia, which migrates largely to the Southern hemisphere outside the breeding season, though there are some small areas of resident populations.  They do also feed on the ground, but the two individuals I did see were flying rapidly overhead.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Glareolidae
Genus: Glareola
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ទន្ទ្រីតធំ  
Locally fairly common Winter visitor

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One distantly at Florican Grassland Reserve and another at Phnom Krom

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Asian Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus)

OTHER NAMES: Asian Whitenecked Stork, Bishop Stork
Latin Etymology: Ciconia ("stork") episcopus ("bishop" - in reference to a black cap)

Adult Wooly-necked Stork (subspecies C. e. episcopus) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Ciconia episcopus episcopus
Weight: 1.8kg  /  Length: 75-92cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

Cambodia is a great country for storks, with seven species breeding within it's borders.  Most are heavily associated with wetland habitats as the vast colonies of Prek Toal can attest, but the Wooly-necked is a bit less colonial in it's nesting, and also frequents grassland areas more.  We only saw a single pair of these birds, distantly coming in to land over the Florican Grasslands.  They seem to be in a bit of taxonomic limbo as most sources seem to list a continuous species over Africa and Asia, but also imply the African subspecies have been split off.

Related Species:
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciiconidae
Genus: Ciconia
SUBSPECIES: C. e. microscelis,* C. e. episcopus, C. e. neglecta

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer names: សត្វកសឬត្រុំឬកុកពាក់អំបោះ 

A scarce resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Two seen very distantly at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

*Some authorities separate this subspecies into a full species as the African Wooly-necked Stork, oddly, the IUCN is the only one of my normal sources to do so, despite usually being more conservative splitters than others. .

Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Saxicola ("stone dweller") caprata (local name for species in Luzon)

Adult male Pied Bush Chat (subspecies S. c. burmanicus) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Saxicola caprata burmanicus
Weight: 14-26g  /  Length: 13-14cm  /  Wingspan: 21-23cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Pied Bushchat is a relations of the stonechats - a small black and white ground feeding bird native to Southern Asia.  It seems to have fairly similar habits to the stonechats that are more familiar to me - forgaging on the ground while occassionally popping up onto an exposed perch.  The female is a much drabber bird than the male, being coloured in browns.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Saxicola
SUBSPECIES: S. c. caprata, S. c. rossorum, S. c. bicolor, S. c. burmanicus, S. c. nilgiriensis, S. c. atratus, S. c. randi, S. c. anderseni, S. c. fruticola, S. c. francki, S. c. pyrrhonotus, S. c. albonotatus, S. c. cognatus, S. c. belensis, S. c. aethiops, S. c. wahgiensis

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer: ពពិចថ្នខ្មៅចុងខ្នង ស ("Black-backed white-end")

 A Wintering migrant

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - A male seen at Florican Grassland Reserve, pair at Phnom Krom

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis)

OTHER NAMES: Bengal Bustard
Latin Etymology: Houbaropsis "(Houbara (bustard) appearance") bengalensis ("of Bengal")

Adult male Bengal Florican (subspecies H. b. blandini) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Houbaropsis bengalensis blandini
Weight: 1.2-1.9kg  /  Length: 66-68cm  /  Wingspan: 72-105cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered

As on the time of writing this, the Bengal Florican is the most critically endangered species I've seen in the nearly ten years I've been producing this website.  The bustards as a whole seem to be one of the most vulnerable families of birds to human activity due to their relatively slow reproduction rate and ground-nesting habitat that often has them dwelling within farmland.  Only two population areas of this species remains; one in India and Nepal, the other in Cambodia and there are potentially less than 1000 left worldwide.  They also have a wonderfully comic mating display involving hopping out of long grass and then parachuting down.

Related Species:
Order: Otidiformes
Family: Otididae
Genus: Houbaropsis
SUBSPECIES: H. b. bengalensis, N. b. blandini 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA -  Khmer: ខ្សឹប ឬ ទ្រមាក់អណ្តើក ("Whisper" or "Turtle tail")

A critically endangered resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Saxicola ("stone dweller") stejnegeri (honouring naturalist Leonhard Hess Stejneger)

Adult male Stejneger's Stonechat (Saxicola stejnegeri) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 17g  /  Length: 11.5-cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

Stejneger's Stonechat is a recent and sequential taxonomic split in the Stonechat complex - initially the entire bunch was considered to be a single species; the Common Stonechat, but genetic analysis first split the Siberian (and other's away) and then later, Stejneger's from the Siberian.  The Stejneger's represents the range of the complex in East Asia, breeding in the far North of Asia including Russia, Korea and Japan, and Wintering in South East Asia and Southern China such as Cambodia where I saw this bird; a very impressive migration of a minimum of around 2000 miles each way to get to that spot!

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Saxicola
SUBSPECIES: N/A

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer: ពពិចថ្មទ្រូងត្នោត ("Brown stone chestnut")

A Wintering migrant

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - A male seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla)

OTHER NAMES: Southern Black Headed Munia, Black-headed Nun, Black-headed Mannikin
Latin Etymology: Lonchura ("spear-head tail) atricapilla ("black haired")

Two adult Chestnut Munia (subspecies L. a. deignani) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: L. a. deignani
Weight: 9g  /  Length: 11-12cm  /  Wingspan: 10-15cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Chestnut munia is a distinctive looking finch like bird of South East Asia; once considered a subspecies of the Tricoloured Munia, it has now been separated into it's own species.  Despite the finch like appearance, it is a closer relation of sparrows; the large crushing bill is a case of convergeant evolution to suit a seed eating diet.  At one point it was the national bird of the Philippines before being replaced with the Philippine Eagle.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Lonchura
SUBSPECIES: L. a. atricapilla, L. a. deignani, L. a. sinensis, L. a. batakana, L. a. formosana, L. a. jagori, L. a. obscura, L. a. selimbauensis, L. a. brunneiceps

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ចាបចង្ក្រង់ក្បាលខ្ (?)

 A resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Two seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra)

OTHER NAMES: Pied Myna
Latin Etymology: Gracupica ("jackdaw magpie") contra (Bengali name for species)

Adult Pied Starling (subspecies G. c. floweri) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Gracupica contra floweri
Weight: 72-82g  /  Length: 22cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Asian Pied starling is a slightly odd looking bird - the fact the bright orange beak links up with a similarly coloured circle around the eye gives the impression of a bigger beak than it actually has, and combined with the stark black and white patterning almost gives a slightly artificially designed sort of look to it.  It's a fairly common resident of Southern Asia.

Related Species:
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Sturnidae
GENUS: Gracupica
SUBSPECIES: G. c. contra, G. c. sordidus, G. c. superciliaris, G. c. floweri, G. c. jalla

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer -  គ្រលីងគ្រលោងត្រចៀកស ("white earrings")

A resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)

OTHER NAMES: Strawberry Finch, Red Munia
Latin Etymology: Amandava (derived from city of Ahmedabad) amandava (from city of Ahmedabad)

Adult male Red Avadavat (subspecies A. a. punicea) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Amandava amandava punicea
Weight: 7g  /  Length: 9.5cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

This is really a case where the alternate name feels like it belongs so much more than the actual one; this species looks as much like a strawberry as it's likely a bird can be: it's small, vaguely strawberry shaped and even has little flecks of white that make it look like it has strawberry seeds on it.  Perhaps because of this exotic appearance, it is a reasonably popular bird in captivity, which has lead to feral populations establishing themselves in various locations around the world as far away as Spain, Puetro Rico and Hawaii.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Amandava
SUBSPECIES: A. a. amandava, A. a. flavidiventris, A. a. punicea 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ចាបមាស ឬចាបចង្ក្រង់ក្រហម ("Gold sparrow" or "red sparrow")

A resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Two seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Circus (bird named for circling flight) melanoleucos ("black and white")

Adult male Pied Harrier (Circus melanoleucos) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 250-450g  /  Length: 45cm  /  Wingspan: 115cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While the harriers found in the UK are primarily various tones of grey and brown, the male Pied Harrier is, as the name suggests, a striking black and white bird.  They are a species with fairly local breeding range, broadly centred around the Amur River, but in Winter head to Southern Asia across a wide range of areas including Kashmir, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.  Their hunting pattern seems to match that of other harriers, but they seem to travel in large flocks on passage.

Related Species:
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Circus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer: រអាតក្បាលខ្មៅ ("Black head")

A local Winter visitor.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Two seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Ceryle (a bird mentioned by Aristotle) rudis ("rude")

Three Pied Kingfisher - one male, two female (subspecies C. r. leucomelanaurus) at Florican Grasslands - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Ceryle rudis leucomelanurus
Weight: 84g  /  Length: 25cm  /  Wingspan: 45-47cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Pied Kingfisher is a fairly large and widely distributed member of the family, found across Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Really, any new Kingfisher species is always a treat, but I felt particularly pleased with our sightings of this bird - right at the beginning of the day, a single bird hovering for food near where we had stopped was quickly supplanted by a whole family of these striking birds, first on a gatepost, then on the opposite bank.

Related Species:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Alcedinidae
Genus Ceryle
SUBSPECIES: C. r. rudis, C. r. leucomelanurus, C. r. travancoreensis, C. r. insignis

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer: កដបខ្មៅ-ស ("black bottle")  

A locally reasonably common resident

 - Seen in reasonable numbers at the Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Anas ("duck") poecilorhyncha ("pied bill")

Three adult Indian Spot-billed Duck (subspecies A. p. haringtoni) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Anas poecilorhyncha haringtoni
Weight: 790-1500g  /  Length: 55-63cm  /  Wingspan: 83-95cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The South Asian equivalent to the Eastern Spot-billed Duck I first encountered in Japan, the Indian is a more striking bird with more contrasting, patterned plumage and a bright red face patch.  Unfortunately, all this was kind of lost on me as the only birds I saw were in flight at the Florican Grasslands, which probably makes this the very first species of duck I've seen only in flight.  Generally, they are apparently fairly secretive birds that avoid large sections of open water, which is probably a factor in why I only saw these ones that had been flushed.

Related Species: 
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Anas
Subspecies: A. p. haringtoni, A. p. poecilorhyncha

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer: ទាកាបព្រៃ ("Wild duck")

A locally reasonably common resident

 - Seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Merops ("bee-eater") philippinus ("of the Philippines")

Adult Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) near Lower Pierce Reservoir - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 29-43g  /  Length: 23-26cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A colourful species of Bee-eater found in Southern Asia - in Penninsula Malaysia and Singapore it functionally carries out a switching act the the Blue-throated Bee-eater, whereby this species is a Winter visitor and the Blue-throated a summer one.  It has in the past been regarded as conspecific with similar species in Western Asia and Africa, but is currently regarded as separate.  Out of the Bee-eaters I have seen to date, it is the most cosmopolitan, being seen regularly in artificial habitats such as suburban Singapore.

Related Species:
Order: Coraciiformes
Family: Meropidae
Genus: Merops
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ត្រដេវក្បាលបៃតង ("Green Bee-eater"?)

A fairly common resident

 - Seen at Prek Toal and Florican Grassland Reserve

SINGAPORE - A fairly common Winter migrant

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Seen around Lower Pierce Reservoir and surrounding area

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") cristatus ("crested")

Adult female Brown Shrike (subspecies L. c. cristatus) at Florican Grassland Reserve, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Lanius cristatus cristatus
Weight: 27-37g/kg  /  Length: 17-20cm  /  Wingspan: 23cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Brown Shrike is the common shrike of East Asia, a bird that is fairly in keeping with the standard look of shrikes and unusually, a lot less colourful than the species found in Europe.  It's a migratory species, breeding in the North of the continent and moving to the south, where I saw it - one in each of Cambodia and Singapore.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
SUBSPECIES: L. c. confusus, L. c. cristatus, L. c. lucionensis

 - Sighting Locations -

SINGAPORE - A reasonably common Winter migrant.

 - SINGAPORE/CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP: Single bird at Lower Pierce Reservoir.

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ចាបដូនតាខ្នងត្នោត ("Brown backyard ?")

- A reasonably common Winter migrant.

- MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Single bird at Florican Grasslands

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

.