Tag Archives: Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity

Whistling a merry tune?

10 Wednesday May 2017

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You might be forgiven for thinking that a bird with the name Lesser whistling duck (Dendrocygna javanica) could sing a merry tune but apparently its song is only a two-note wheezy call. Instead, and rather remarkably, its outermost primary wing feather has a rather unusual shape and is said to produce a prominent whistling sound when the bird is flying. As I only saw this duck looking rather drowsy and sitting perfectly still, I can neither confirm nor deny its musicality.

170510 Lesser whistling duck

Lesser whistling ducks can be found throughout the wetlands of Southeast Asia and lowland parts of the Indian subcontinent. I photographed this one in Cambodia, at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity about 60 kilometres outside Siem Reap. (You can read more about the conservation, rescue, rehabilitation and educational work of the ACCB here.)

Black-crowned night heron

13 Wednesday Apr 2016

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For this week’s World Wildlife Wednesday we have a bird that can be found almost everywhere in the world (though it’s neither partial to the cold nor to Australasia), and my images go some way to showing that.

160413 Black crowned night heron cambo ACCB

My first photo of the Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was taken at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) not far from Siem Reap in Cambodia. Like so many species of wildlife in poverty-stricken Cambodia, this heron is considered by many locals to be a food item, and hunting has dramatically reduced its numbers. The ACCB operates a captive breeding programme that aims to rebuild the local population.

160413 black crowned night heron chicago

My second set of photos was taken in Chicago and shows immature night herons roosting in the trees in Lincoln Park, just north of the city centre. Due mainly to habitat loss, these herons are endangered in Illinois, so the Chicago Parks, Lincoln Park Zoo and Department of Natural Resources are working together to encourage and support the 400-odd birds that breed in Lincoln Park each year.

160413 black crowned night heron kl

The location of my third photo is the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Malaysia. According to the Malaysian Birds website, the Black-crowned night heron is faring rather better in Malaysia, where the bird is widespread and the populations in local heronries frequently number in the hundreds.