Penang Part 2

I have finally managed to find some time to put together part 2 of my post from Penang. As I mentioned, the gardens were very well kept, and had a variety of flowering trees, shrubs and plants. Some were familiar, like Frangipani and Bougainvillea, but others were a complete mystery. I am used to seeing white Frangipani, but in Penang there were also deep red ones, and a pink one that had different shaped flowers, but the tree and leaves looked the same. The Bougainvillea came in a wide variety of shades from pale pink through to deep purple, but my favourite is the traditional lilac one. Here are some other flowers. And finally a couple more birds. This Common Iora had a nest in the same tree as the Barbet from my previous post. This Emerald Dove was the only bird seen on a walk at the forestry museum a few kilometers from the resort.

Penang - Part 1

OK, I know I'm on honeymoon, but I have managed a little birding here and there. The gardens around the resort we are staying in are beautifully kept, and there are always a few birds around. The most common by far are Tree Sparrow and Common Mynah. Off to one side of the garden is a huge Flame of the Forest which is covered in large red flowers. One of the first birds I saw3 here was a Coppersmith Barbet, which was feeding young in a nesthole in the bottom of one of the lower branches. Also in the tree was Black-naped Oriole, Asian Glossy Starling and Yellow-vented Bulbul. In another tree was a single Common Tailorbird, and an Oriental Magpie-robin, and there is regularly a White-breasted Kingfisher around the garden. There were also lots of House Crows picking up any scraps they could find