Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS of Perak, Malaysia, sent in images of Tiger Shrikes (Lanius tigrinus) on 14th September 2009 with the following comment: “I have often seen wintering migrant Tiger Shrike at the Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve in Perak, Malaysia. Three birds were spotted this season, on 12th September 2009. These are the first I have seen for this season (none there last week). These are the 1st winter birds.
“What is puzzling is the buff colouring that is present in the undertail-coverts in the bird (left, bottom), compared to a normal bird (left, top). Such colouring is not a feature of Tiger Shrikes.”
Another Malaysian birder, Lim Kim Chye, has this to say: “Never seen this odd plumage before … bird appears to be immature, based on plumage. I’m just as curious to know if there’s anything about this in the literature.”
KC Tsang, a local birdwatcher-photographer, when informed of Amar’s observation, produced his images showing similar buff-colouring (below), adding: “My first picture (below) also shows buff colour, one with more, the other with traces of it, maybe as the bird gets older the buff gets less and les…”
Top two images by Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS, bottom image by KC Tsang.
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