(1994) and Lim and Gardner (1997) we have used the following colour codes to indicate abundance of birds.
Globally threatened status
We have included a code for globally threatened status. It follows the important BirdLife International study, which was published in Collar et al. (1994), please consult this book for more detailed information. Briefly, this survey operates with four main categories, which have been adopted unchanged here:
The author in freshwater wetlands.
LITTLE GREBE (Red-throated Little Grebe)
Tachybaptus ruficollis 25 cm F: Podicipedidae
Description: Unmistakable, Note yellow spot near bill in breeding plumage; non-breeding plumage is duller, breast and hind neck pale brown.
Voice: A sharp ke-ke-ke-ke.
Habits: Like all grebes, a strictly aquatic bird rarely seen flying. Swims in ponds and lakes near or among reeds and dives when disturbed. Feeds on fish and aquatic invertebrates. Disperses outside breeding season, small flocks sometimes gather at prime locations.
SPOT-BILLED PELICAN
Pelecanus philippensis 140 cm F: Pelecanidae
Description: Distinguished from other pelicans by spotted upper mandible on bill; also grey-tinged to white plumage.
Voice: Generally quiet.
Habits: Frequents a variety of shallow wetlands, from inland marshes and lakes, to brackish estuaries near the coast. Swims on surface and dives for fish, often in flocks with other water birds. Formerly widespread, numerous and locally abundant, with millions of birds in Myanmar atone. During the last few decades has declined drastically; now scarce throughout its range and vulnerable to global extinction.
MASKED BOOBY
Sula dactylatra 86 cm F: Sulidae
Description: Distinguished from other boobies by black facial mask contrasting with yellow bill; distinguished from Brown Booby also by large size and white (not brown) neck and wing coverts.
Voice: Quiet during migration; honks and whistles near nest.
Habits: A pelagic bird, sometimes found 1,000 km from nearest land. Only visits remote offshore islets to breed, however even these sites are not too remote for fishermen who collect eggs and young. Populations have been greatly reduced in Southeast Asia, but are still sizable in other regions such as the Pacific Ocean. Makes spectacular dives into the sea for large fish.
RED-FOOTED BOOBY
Sula sula 71 cm F: Sulidae
Description: Note diagnostic white tail. Also distinguished from previous species by smaller size, yellowish head and lack of mask.
Voice: Quiet during migration; honks and whistles near nest.
Habits: A pelagic bird that flies up to 150 km from breeding colony to forage on small flying fish and squid; never seen near the mainland. Mostly reduced in numbers in Southeast Asia, but over a million individuals are still found in the Pacific Ocean region, the Caribbean and off Australia.
BROWN BOOBY
Sula leucogaster 74 cm F: Sulidae
Description: Note diagnostic chocolate-brown upper parts and neck contrasting with white belly.
Voice: Quiet during migration; quacking calls near nest.
Habits: The most widespread member of its family in Southeast Asia, Occasionally seen near the mainland coast flying low, with characteristic shallow wing beats. Although no longer a resident in Thailand and other areas, still locally numerous on islands in the Malacca Strait, South China Sea and off the Philippines. A large colony is located on the Layang-Layang Islands, where this photograph was taken. Can be reached by direct flight from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.
GREAT CORMORANT (Cormorant)
Phalacrocorax
