Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis)

OTHER NAMES: Yellow Wagtail
Latin Etymology: Motacilla ("wagtail") tschutschensis ("of the Chukhotsi penninsula, Siberia")

Partially moulted Eastern Yellow Wagtail (subspecies M. t. macronyx) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Motacilla tschitschensis macronyx
Weight: 16-20g  /  Length: 15-16cm  /  Wingspan: ?
ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List: Least Concern 

Wagtails are always a pleasant sight, with their distinctive markings and characterful movement, it's never not nice to see one.  Taxonomically though, they are frequently a vexatious group, with wildly varying patternatation on different races and subspecies giving the appearance that they should be entirely different species.  In the case of the Yellow Wagtail, a split separated them into Eastern and Western species, but even within these delineated groups there is a lot of variety, with multiple subspecies turning up at different locations.  In this case, the lack of a supercillium is, as far as I can work out, a feature of the subspecies macronyx, which is the expected visitor for Cambodia.

Related Species:
Order:  Passeriformes
Family: Motacillidae
Genus: Motacilla
SUBSPECIES: M. t. plexa, M. t. tschutschensis, M. t. taivana, M. t. macronyx

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ខ្ទប់ដីពោះលឿង ("Yellow Covered Wagtail")

A locally Wintering species.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One at Phnom Krom

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

Plain Prinia (Prinia inornata)

OTHER NAMES: Plain Wren-warbler, White-browed Wren-warbler
Latin Etymology: Prinia (originally Javan name for Bar-winged Prinia) inornata ("plain")

Adult breeding plumage Plain Prinia (subspecies P. i. herberti) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Prinia inornata herberti
Weight: 6-9g  /  Length: 11-15cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Plain Prinia is a small long-tailed warbler found over Soutern Asia, unlike most Eurasian Warblers it's plumage is similar in both genders but changes with the seasons, with this Winter bird being grey backed while they change to a warm nut brown back while in the Summer.  They are primarily lowland birds, and so it is fairly typical that this bird was sighted in a bush at Phnom Krom.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Prinia
SUBSPECIES: P. i. terricolor, P. e. inornata, P. i. franklinii, P. i. insularis, P. i. fusca, P. i. extrensicauda, P. i. blanfordi, P. i. herberti, P. i. flavirostris, P. i. blythi

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ចាបដង្កូវចិញ្ចើមស ("white feathers")

Locally resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One at Phnom Krom

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

Great Myna (Acridotheres grandis)

OTHER NAMES: White-vented Myna, Buffalo Myna, Thai Crested Myna
Latin Etymology: Acridotheres ("locust hunter") grandis ("large")

Adult Great Myna (Acridotheres grandis)  at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A

Weight: 95-103g  /  Length: 25cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Judging from the sole encounter with this bird I've had, the alternate name of Buffalo Myna seems apt - this signle bird we saw was perched on the back of a browsing water buffalo as we returned back from Phnom Krom. It's a close relative of the Javan and Jungle Mynas, and has previously been lumped with them, but does have somewhat different habits.  It's a darker bird than either of the others, with a larger crest to help differentiate it.

Related Species:
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Sturnidae
GENUS: Acridotheres
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: សារិកាកែវក្របី

A fairly common resident.

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One near Phnom Krom

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

Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Metopidius ("on the forehead") indicus ("Indian")

Adult Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 150-350g  /  Length: 29cm  /  Wingspan: 54cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While the pheasant-tailed jacana proved to be numerous and fairly conspicuous, the Bronze-winged proved to be a much scarcer shyer bird.  As we finished the lap of the track we were on just before we returned to our car, our guide spotted a single bird distantly moving amongst the waterside plants on the far side of a field.   In some ways a subtle bird, a closer inpection reveals something akin to a metallic version of a colour scheme you'd more expect on a rail - a bright yellow beek and then deep rich green and purple plumage, along with the namesake bronze wing.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Jacanidae
Genus: Metopidius
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ព្រហីតខ្មៅ ("Black Jacana")

Locally common resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One at Phnom Krom

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 .

Pin-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura)

OTHER NAMES: Pintail Snipe
Latin Etymology: Gallinago ("woodcock/snipe") stenura ("narrow tailed")

Two adult Pint-tailed Snipe (Gallinago stenura) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 115g  /  Length: 25-27cm  /  Wingspan: 44-47cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While the Common Snipe is distributed right the way across Eurasia, in the East there is a wider variety of snipe species of which the Pintail in the most common migrant.  Snipe identification is, if I'm honest, not the easiest thing in the world - they are all similarly shaped, similarly cryptically patterned birds and you probably need a bit of an experience to get the knack down, so I'm happy to defer to ours guide from the Cambodia Bird Guide Association in identifying these as Pin-tailed.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Gallinago
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ខ្វែកត្រោកកន្ទុយម្ជុល ("needle tail")

Locally fairly common Winter visitor

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Several at Phnom Krom

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

Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Hydrophasianus ("water pheasant") chirurgus ("surgeon")

Two non-breeding Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 113-135g  /  Length: 39-58cm  /  Wingspan: 63-68cm
ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The jacanas are a small unique group of waders characterised by having enormous feet which they use to live their lives based around floating vegetation such as lillies.  Amongst the eight species, the pheasant-tailed is a bit of an oddity - it's the only one to have a specific breeding plumage (including the namesake pheasant-tail) and the only one to migrate.  Given they seemed to favour the cover of lotus fields, they flushed very easily from a distance.  They are also an unusual example of a polyandrous species, where the female may mate with multiple males throughout the breeding season and leave them to do the incubating and raising of the chicks.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Jacanidae
Genus: Hydrophasianus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: ព្រហីតស ("Jacana")

Locally common resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Numerous at Phnom Krom

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

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 .

Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Mycteria ("nose/snout") leucocephala ("white head") 

Four Adult Painted Stork (Mycterua leucocephala) at Prek Toal, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 2-3.5kg  /  Wingspan: 150-160cm  /  Height: 93-102cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Near Threatened 

I must admit, seeing Painted Stork in Malaysia was a bit of a pleasant accident - we pulled over at a restaurant at a fairly random road near Kuala Lumpur Airport and four of these colourful storks circled overhead.  For the listing purists, these birds wouldn't count however - Malaysia has a bit of a more lax attitude to free-flying birds in zoos and collections and in this case these birds have gone on to establish a feral colony in Selangor near Kuala Lumpur Airport where these birds were seen.  I saw a further individual on a pond near the road Malacca on the Northern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur but this is near to the free-flying zoo population so probably from there.  The Painted Stork is one of the more common Stork species in Asia, however it is suffering declines due to human disturbance - however unfortunately it itself is a cause of conservation problems for Milky Stork - a similar species that is native to Malaysia.  On our later trip to Cambodia, truely wild Painted Stork were a frequently abundant bird in many locations.

Related Species:
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ciconidae
Genus: Mycteria
Subspecies: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer - រនាលពណ៌ (The colour palette")

A fairly common, and locally abundant resident

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Seen at Florican Grassland Reserve,  Phnom Krom and in huge abundance at Prek Toal

MALAYSIA - Malay - Upeh Sawah ("Field Stork")

Feral populations exist in Selangor province and possibly along the Singapore straits.

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: A flock of four seen circling in Selangor Province near Kuala Lumpur Airport. 

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

Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus)

OTHER NAMES: Cattle Egret

Latin Etymology: Bubulcus ("cow-herd") coromandus ("of the Coromand coast")

Two Breeding plumage Adult Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus) at Phnom Krom, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 270-512g  /  Length: 51cm  /  Wingspan: 88-96cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not yet Evaluated

As with the Eastern Great Egret, this is another case of a Eurasian heron species which has been split horizontally by some taxonomists yet remains lumped by others. In this case, the Eastern Cattle Egret is more widely accepted than the Eastern Great Egret, but still not that widely accepted.  The main difference between this species and its western counterparts (beyond obviously, range) is the breeding plumage - the buff colouration is more extensive in this species along with some other coloration differences.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Bubulcus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CAMBODIA - Khmer name: កុកគោ ("cow ?")

Locally resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One at Phnom Krom

MALAYSIA - Malay - Bangau Kerbau ("Buffalo Egret")

Locally common resident.

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Abundant on the fields of Simpang Airport, Kuala Lumpur but not seen elsewhere.

SINGAPORE - A resident.

 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP: Seen from moving car several times.

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

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Himantopus (species specific name) himantopus (species specific name)

Adult Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) at Frampton Marshes, Lincolnshire - August 2023

Featured Subspecies: N/A

Weight: 180g  /  Length: 38cm  /  Wingspan: 75cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Personally, I would consider the Black-winged stilt one of the most striking looking species in Europe - it has by far the longest leg-body ratio of any species found on the continent, and in bright pink too.  It can be found regularly as near as Northern France, but remains a vagrant in the UK, although I caught a glimpse of a flock when I visited El Rocio in Spain.  These birds were seen during an influx of the species into the UK, where a number of them were scattered around the Southern half of England at once.  Slightly frustratingly, the views here were distant, while if I had been at home, some great views were being had by people at the hides of Summerleys at fairly close range.  However, it is a stunning species either way.

Related Species:
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Recurvirostridae
Genus: Himantopus
Subspecies: None - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A regular vagrant that occasionally attempts breeding

 - A vagrant pair at Cliffe Pools which attempted breeding in 2014.

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ជើងទៀន ("Candle legs")

Locally common resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Several at Phnom Krom

SPAIN - Spanish - Ciguëñuela ("Stilt")

A locally common resident.

 - SEVILLE 2011 TRIP: A flock seen flying away at El Rocio 
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: A few birds at Laguna del Longar, abundant at Laguna Navaseca

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

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Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

OTHER NAMES: Dabchick

Latin Etymology: Tachybaptus ("quick to sink under") ruficollis ("ruddy")

Adult Winter plumage Little Grebe (subspecies T. r. capensis) at Regent's Park, London - December 2012

Featured Subspecies: Tachybaptus ruficollis capensis
Weight: 140g  /  Length: 23-29cm  /  Wingspan: 40-45cm

UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The second most common of the grebes, the little grebe (also known as the dabchick) is a small, round grebe with a short bill. It's not that hard to find in theory, but its small size and frequent diving may often make it slightly harder to pin down then it really should be when among lots of other waterfowl. Photographing it is the usual case of how close both it and you are to the shoreline, which means that individuals accustomed to humans such as those in city parks are far more photograph-able than their rural cousins.

Related Species:
Order: Podicipidiformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Genus: Tachybaptus
Subspecies: T. r. capensis, T. r. iraquensis, T. r. poggei, T. r. kunikyonis, T. r. philippensis, T. r. cotabato, T. r. vulcanorum, T. r. tricolor, T. r. albescens

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Fairly common breeding species (10,000 pairs) and Common Winter Visitor (16000 birds)

 - Sites include Rutland Water, Regent's Park, Kensington Gardens, Pitsford Reservoir, Ditchford Gravel Pits and Eyebrook Reservoir

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ពពុះទឹក 

Resident

SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One at Phnom Krom

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

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