“We were driving back along the Kuching to Buntal Road (great place for waders) when we came across a flock of 10-11 Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis coromandus) foraging just by the roadside. These are migratory to this region with no confirmed breeding records locally yet (See: The Birds of Borneo by Smythies, 4th edition revised by Davidson and Birds of Borneo by Quentin Phillipps 2009).
“Most no longer had any breeding plumage with just the faint orange ‘beauty spot’ on the forehead (barely discernable in some photographs).
“They were doing well foraging … feeding on a green grasshopper (left) and a green cricket.
“They were in the heat of the day (2.30 pm) and it was a particularly hot day. We saw many of them fluttering the sides of their cheeks – I suspect to keep themselves cool. Not seen this before but we were very close, using the car as a hide. It is a very rapid fluttering and hard to capture on still images (below).
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS & Dr Chin Saw Sian
Kuching to Buntal Road, Sarawak, Malaysia
30th September 2010