Birds of Cambodia - The Passerines Quiz

Answer: Cuckoo-shrike

The ashy minivet is a member of the cuckoo-shrike family (Campephagidae). It is one of eleven members of the family that can be seen in Cambodia, including the rosy minivet, small minivet, large cuckoo-shrike, bar-winged flycatcher-shrike and Indochinese cuckoo-shrike.
The ashy minivet breeds as far north as southern Siberia and northeastern China but migrates for the winter to southeast Asia as far south as Indonesia and the Philippines. It can be seen at canopy level in forests and in open areas with scattered trees. It feeds mostly on insects

Answer: Warbler

The common tailorbird is a member of the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. It is one of 26 members of the family that can be seen in Cambodia including the Cambodian tailorbird, grey-bellied tesia, Asian stubtail, striated grassbird, paddyfield warbler, Oriental reed-warbler, dusky warbler and Sakhalin leaf-warbler. Named because it builds its nest by sewing leaves together, the common tailorbird can be tricky to spot in thick undergrowth, but you will know they are there from their loud and repetitive call. Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", one of the "Jungle Book" stories, includes a pair of tailorbirds.

Answer: Flycatcher

The Siberian stonechat is a member of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. Its high, twittering song has a distinctive clicking sound, like two pebbles being knocked together. Insectivores, they can usually be seem on rough open scrubland or in paddy fields.

Answer: Laughing-thrush

The silver-eared mesia is a species within the Leiothrichidae family of laughing-thrushes. Its diet is primarily insects and their larvae, although it also eats fruit and seeds. Usually seen foraging close to the ground, they sometimes go as high as 15 feet into the low canopy.

Their nests are found at ground level or in low bushes. Both male and female feed the young during a month of parenting, although chicks generally fledge after twelve days.

Answer: Babblers

The mountain fulvetta is a species withing the family Pellorneidae which consists of Old World babblers. Growing to around 5-6 inches in length, they are medium-sized songbirds with soft, fluffy plumage. Their short, rounded wings mean that they are not adept at long flights so they are not strongly migratory. Primarily insectivores, they also eat berries.

Answer: Drongo

Numerous members of the Dicruridae family can be seen regularly in Cambodia including the ashy drongo, crow-billed drongo, greater racket-tailed drongo and the pictured species, the black drongo.
Glossy black all over and with a distinctive forked tail, the black drongo grows to an average length of 11 inches. Unlike many songbirds, males and females of this species cannot be easily told apart. A common sight in light forests and open agricultural area the black drongo is often seen perched on telephone or power lines and even on grazing animals.
Aggressive and fearless, many smaller passerines can often be seen nesting close to the black drongo as it has a reputation for defending its territory, even from much bigger birds of prey.
The black drongo is spectacular to watch on the wing as it maneuvers quickly to catch insects in flight.

Answer: Crow

The red-billed blue magpie is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is easily recognizable by both its colorful plumage and its tail, which is much longer than any other corvid. The color of its bill, legs and feet can vary from red to orange.
Not a fussy eater, the red-billed blue magpie will dine on invertebrates, small mammals, fruit and seeds and is also not averse to robbing the nests of smaller birds of both eggs and chicks.

Answer: Weaver-finch

The scaly-breasted munia, often called a nutmeg mannikin or spice finch in the pet trade, is a member of the Estrildidae family of weaver-finches.
Mostly found in tropical plains and grasslands, the scaly-breasted munia constructs dome-shaped nests from grass or bamboo leaves. Their diet consists of grass seeds, berries and small insects.
This species is fairly easy to identify in the wild: they will usually be found in large flocks or at least 100 birds and they have an exaggerated tail-flicking movement as they hop around foraging.

Answer: Shrike

Five species from the shrike family, Laniidae, can be seen in Cambodia, the tiger shrike, the Burmese shrike, the brown shrike, the grey-back shrike and the pictured bird, the long-tailed shrike or rufous-backed shrike.
A typical shrike, it prefers dry open habitats and can often be seen perched prominently on a wire or atop a bush, ready to glides down at an angle onto its prey: lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents. Long-tailed shrikes have even been seen taking fish directly from streams and attacking small snakes.

Answer: Starling

The common hill myna is a member of the starling family, Sturnidae. Ten species from this family can be found in Cambodia including the great myna, golden-crested myna, black-collared starling and Asian pied starling.
Renowned for their ability to imitate speech, they are mimics on a par only with the African grey parrot so the common hill myna is very popular with the pet trade.
In the wild, the common hill myna can be seen (and heard) moving in tree tops at the edge of forests in large, noisy groups. Like most starlings, it is omnivorous, eating insects, fruit and nectar.