BIRDINGASIA 33

Crested Auklet Aethia cristatella, Yankicha, Kuril Islands, Far East Russia, 18th June 2018 by James A. Eaton.

CONTENTS

3 Chairman’s letter

4 BirdingASIA briefings

6 OBC in action

8 Letters to the Editors

10 NEWSFLASH
Serious pollution incident in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Assam, north-east India
COMPILED BY THE EDITORS

13 CONSERVATION ALERT
Notes on a visit to Enggano Island, Sumatra, Indonesia, in early 2020
MUHAMMAD IQBAL, ADI KUSWANTO, JARULIS & ISTIYA RIFKI

17 CONSERVATION ALERT
Is the endemic Enggano Thrush Geokichla leucolaema now under serious threat of extinction?
MUHAMMAD IQBAL, ADI KUSWANTO, ISTIYA RIFKI & JARULIS

19 CONSERVATION ALERT
Now you see them, now you don’t: how representative are field surveys when most birds are caged? A case study from the lower montane forests of southern Sumatra, Indonesia
MUHAMMAD IQBAL, PORMANSYAH, ARUM SETIAWAN, INDRA YUSTIAN & HILDA ZULKIFLI

25 CONSERVATION ALERT
Is the COVID-19 pandemic boosting the hunting of Phasianidae in western Indonesia?

27 LITTLE-KNOWN AREA
The avifauna of the Mekongga Mountains, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, and notes on a vocally distinct Locustella grasshopper warbler
ALEX J. BERRYMAN & JAMES A. EATON

36 LITTLE-KNOWN AREA
Visiting Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park, Lao PDR
JAMES A. EATON, DAN BROWN, BEN SWANEPOEL & COLIN M. POOLE

46 CONSERVATION UPDATE
Asian vulture crisis update: populations respond to effective removal of diclofenac but the threat from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs remains
CHRISTOPHER G. R. BOWDEN

51 CONSERVATION UPDATE
The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea conservation project in 2019 and 2020: population trends continue to be negative
CHRISTOPH ZOCKLER , SAYAM U. CHOWDHURY , LILI SUN, CHEN QING , PYAE PHYO AUNG , JODIE CLEMENTS , KONSTANTIN KHloko v, ELENA G. LAPPO & Evgeny Syroechko vskiy

58 FIELD STUDY
The ecology of nestlings of Javan Kingfisher Halcyon cyanoventris observed in Jatimulyo village, Yogyakarta province, Java, Indonesia
IMAM TAUFIQURRAHMAN, KELIK SUPARNO, KIRYONO, IGNAS SETA DWIWARDHANA, NOORMAN HENDRY, FAUZY & AFRIZAL NURHIDAYAT FIELD STUDY

65 LITTLE-KNOWN ASIAN BIRD
Observations of juvenile Mongolian Accentor Prunella koslowi, Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, Mongolia
OSCAR CAMPBELL & GILLIAN ENSOR

68 Project report Safeguarding the last breeding population of River Tern Sterna aurantia in China
XI ZHENG, CHANG-SHENG ZUO, JIAN-HUAN YANG, DING-CAN ZHANG, ZHENG-HUA YANG & BOSCO PUI LOK CHAN

74 COUNTRY FOCUS
Pakistan’s birds and birdwatching today

BIRDS OF PAKISTAN FACEBOOK GROUP

89 BIRD TO WATCH
Some observations of the Xinjiang Ground Jay Podoces biddulphi in the Taklimakan Desert, Xinjiang, China
ANDREW SHEPPERD

94 PHOTOSPOT
Three for the price of one!

95 NOTEBOOK
Iris marks and pupil shape in the Ashy Woodpecker Mulleripicus fulvus of Sulawesi, Indonesia
GERARD GORMAN

98 NOTEBOOK
New altitudinal record for Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus from Nepal
CHIRANJEEVI KHANAL, MADAN SAPKOTA, PRABHAT KIRAN BHATTRAI & BHUWAN SINGH BIST

100 NOTEBOOK
Notes on the occurrence of White Wagtail Motacilla alba in Indonesia
BAS VAN BALEN, ERIK MEIJAARD, ICHLAS AL ZAQIE, WOUTER PLOMP & JAMES A. EATON

103 NOTEBOOK
If you go, I’ll stay: nest use interaction between Asian Woollyneck Ciconia episcopus and Black Kite Milvus migrans in Nepal
PRASHANT GHIMIRE, NABIN PANDEY, BIBEK BELBASE, ROJINA GHIMIRE, CHIRANJEEVI KHANAL, BHUWAN SINGH BIST & KRISHNA PRASAD BHUSAL

106 NOTEBOOK
High altitude records of Ruddy-breasted Crake Zapornia fusca and Shikra Accipiter badius from the Spiti valley, Trans-Himalaya region, Himachal Pradesh, India
C. ABHINAV & JAINY KURIAKOSE

109 NOTEBOOK
Sightings of Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata in Nepal go back 30 years
KAMAL THAPA, VIMAL KUMAR THAPA, PURNA BAHADUR ALE & BIRKHA (LALU) GURUNG

111 BREEDING RECORD
Second breeding record of the little-known Sumatran Green Pigeon Treron oxyurus from Sumatra, Indonesia
CHAIRUNAS ADHA PUTRA, DING LI YONG, CAROLINE HO, SWEE SENG KHOO & DEDI ARFIANTO

114 BREEDING RECORD
Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger nesting in Peninsular Malaysia
AMAR-SINGH HSS

118 NEW RECORDS
New and interesting avifaunal records for Myanmar, 2005−2019
THET ZAW NAING, CHRISTOPH ZÖCKLER, KYAW ZIN TUN, LAY WIN, MYINT KYAW, NAING LIN, NGWE LWIN,NYO NYO AUNG, ROBERT TIZARD, SAW MOSES, SOE NAING AYE, THAN ZAW & THIRI DA WEI AUNG

128 COUNTRY FIRSTS
First record of European Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus for India
DHAVAL VARGIYA, PRASAD GANPULE, NAYAN THANKI & PARESH PITRODA

131 The first record of European Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus for Sri Lanka
MODITHA KODIKARA ARACHCHI & SAMPATH S. SENEVIRATNE

134 First record of Emperor Goose Anser canagicus for China
IDERBAT DAMBA

135 First record of Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha for Cambodia
THOMAS N. E. GRAY & OLIVER ROBERTS

137 First record of Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus for Thailand and South-East Asia
ZACHARY POHLEN & CALLIE GESMUNDO

138 First record of Oriental Plover Charadrius veredus for Bangladesh
SULTAN AHMED & KHATUNE JANNAT

140 COUNTRY FIRSTs First record of Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus for Mongolia
BATMUNKH DAVAASUREN, ANDREAS GARPEBRING, ANNA HALLMÉN, JULIA PETTERSSON & MARIA NILSSON

142 FROM THE FIELD EXTRA
An unprecedented influx of vagrants into Malaysia and Singapore during the 2019–2020 winter period
YONG CHEE KEITA SIN, DILLEN NG & MARTIN KENNEWELL

148 FROM THE FIELD