Pelargopsis amauroptera

Langkawi, Malaysia

This large and chunky kingfisher was documented in the emerald waters of Langkawi in Malaysia - the jewel of Kedah. To find the kingfisher we made our way into the Sungai Kubang Badak and its estuary - and also to look for the Red-backed Sea Eagle/ Brahminy Kite and the White-bellied Sea Eagle.

Officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (in Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah) is a district and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide) in the Malacca Straits. some 30 km off the coast of northwestern Malaysia. Surrounded by turquoise sea, the interior of the main island is a mixture of picturesque paddy fields and jungle-clad hills while the shoreline is fringed by powder-fine sand, swaying coconut trees and dense mangroves. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border; the islands are a few kilometres south of Ko Tarutao. On 15 July 2008, the then-sultan of Kedah, Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, conferred the title of Langkawi Permata Kedah (meaning 'Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah') upon the island as part of his golden jubilee as an affirmation of Kedah's ownership over the island.

The island of Langkawi was recorded in history by various travellers to the region. It was called Lóngyápútí in the 14th century by the Yuan dynasty traveller Wang Dayuan. When the Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He visited the region, the island was marked as Lóngyájiāoyǐ, on his map. In the 15th century, it was known to the Acehnese as Pulau Lada ('Pepper Island'). In 1691, the French general Augustin de Beaulieu recorded going to the island of "Lancahui" (Langkawi) to buy pepper, and de Beaulieu was required to obtain a license from Kedah's heir apparent then in Perlis before the penghulu or chief of Langkawi would sell pepper to him. The name Langkawi is thought to have existed by the early 15th century, although in the 16th century the island of Langkawi was also marked on maps variously as Langa, Langka, Lansura, and Langapura. There are many suggestions for the origin of the name of Langkawi. According to one interpretation, Langkawi means island of the reddish-brown eagle, a Brahminy Kite in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang (colloquially shortened to lang), and kawi is a red stone used as a chalk to mark goods. This interpretation was used to create the landmark sculpture of an eagle as the symbol of Langkawi at Dataran Helang (Eagle Square) in Kuah, the largest town on the island.

Some believed that Langkawi is the same as, or related to, the Lanka or Langkapuri mentioned in the epic Ramayana as the city of King Ravana. This ancient name Lanka (or Lankapura and Lankapuri) is found in Indian literature from an early period although the identification of the original Lanka is not certain. Puri or puram in Sanskrit means a town or city. The name Langkawi is also thought to be related to Langkasuka, an old kingdom believed to have links with Kedah. Some also thought that Langkawi means "many beautiful islands", langka being a Sanskrit word meaning "beautiful" while wi means "many".

Our area of interest however, is in the northwest of the main island which is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from north to south and slightly more from east to west. The coastal areas consist of flat, alluvial plains punctuated with limestone ridges. Two-thirds of the island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills, and natural vegetation. On 1 June 2007, Langkawi Island was given a World Geopark status by UNESCO. Three of its main conservation areas in Langkawi Geopark are Machincang Cambrian Geoforest Park, Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, and Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest park (Island of the Pregnant Maiden Lake). These three parks are the most popular tourism area within Langkawi Geopark. In 2014, UNESCO issued a "yellow card" warning threatening the status of the Geopark.

The island's oldest geological formation, the Machinchang Formation, was the first part of Southeast Asia to rise from the seabed in the Cambrian more than half a billion years ago. The oldest part of the formation is observable at Teluk Datai to the northwest of the island, where the exposed outcrop consists of mainly sandstone (quartzite) in the upper parts and shale and mudstone in the lower parts of the sequence. The other known example, the Jerai Formation, emerges near the west coast of Kedah on the mainland (peninsula). Geologically, all these rocks are in the Western Belt of peninsular Malaysia, which is thought to be part of the Shan–Thai Terrane.

‡‡‡‡‡

Brown-winged Kingfisher

The brown-winged kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauroptera) is a species of bird in the subfamily Halcyoninae. It is closely related to the Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) and the Great-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis melanorhyncha).

It is found along the north and eastern coasts of the Bay of Bengal, occurring in the countries of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. In India, it has been mainly reported from the Sundarbans region but records from further south near Chilka exist. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

The brown-winged is a large tree kingfisher, measuring 35 cm in length and weighing about 160 grams.These kingfisher species have an orange head, nape, throat and underparts. The bill and the legs are red. The tip of the bill is pale gray. The irises are dark brownish gray. The back, wings and tail are brownish black and the rump is blue. The tail is short and their call is a harsh, cackling, repeated “chak-chak" sound.

The species is distributed in the Bay of Bengal coast of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. In India, they are distributed in the states of Odisha and West Bengal. The Ayeyarwady Delta and the Sundarbans are the major habitats.

These brown-winged kingfisher species are moderately forest dependent and they occur in altitudes from 0 - 100 meters inhabiting various mangrove forests & wetland ecosystems. Their preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical mangrove forests, marine intertidal mud flats, salt pans, marine intertidal rocky shoreline, marine intertidal pools, brackish creeks and shallow estuaries. Occasionally they inhabit inland freshwater wetlands. They feed mostly on fish, crabs, shrimp and frogs and they are watch-and-wait hunters, perching quietly whilst seeking food. They dive onto their prey from the perch and catch it in their bill.

The breeding season of the brown-winged kingfisher species is during March and April in India. They are highly territorial and will chase away eagles and other large predators. They are monogamous and both the parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. These kingfisher species excavate their nests in a river mud bank. Their nest is a 30 to 60 cm long burrow with about 10 cm width, ending in a roomy incubating chamber. The clutch contains two to five white round eggs. The chicks are blind and lack feathers when they hatch out.

The brown-winged kingfisher is a non-migrant resident bird.Post breeding, the kingfisher juveniles may disperse and establish in new locations within the range. They may make local movements for feeding and breeding within their range.

The global population size of the brown-winged kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauroptera) has not been quantified. The overall population size of these kingfisher species is considered to be decreasing. Throughout its range it is reported to be rare to fairly common. The generation length is 5.7 years. Their distribution size is about 992,000 km². The brown-winged kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauroptera) is approaching the thresholds for being Vulnerable under the range size criterion, under the population trend criterion and also under the population size criterion. The on-going clearance and degradation of mangroves is the main threat that may endanger the survival of these species. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the kingfisher species and has listed it as "Near Threatened". CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) status is ‘Not Evaluated’ for the brown-winged kingfisher (Pelargopsis amauroptera). In at least parts of this species' range, the rapid loss of mangroves is inferred to have caused similarly rapid population declines; in other areas however, its habitat is, for now, well protected. For these reasons, the global population is thought to have declined moderately rapidly over the past three generations.

‡‡‡‡‡

‡‡‡‡‡

Related Posts