Common Birds in Malaysia

When i was in Gold Coast, Australia last year, i was fascinated by two local birds found everywhere in the city. One was the beautiful seagull, this being a seaside city. While it was an easily identifiable bird, every seagull was distinctly different. As for the other common bird, the ibis, i was surprised how a large bird could co-exist with humans in a urban area. If this was Malaysia, the Chinese would trapping them for their meat.

Which made me think about the common birds in our very own country. I think anyone can easily think of the most common ones, we see hundreds of them around us everyday. But let me make it clear, i am talking about common birds in urban areas only, since i have lived my entire life in urban and suburban Malaysia. There are hundreds of species of common birds in the Malaysian rainforests, in the secondary jungle beside my childhood home I have personally seen kingfishers, orioles and bulbuls, and an odd eagle. So again, I’m limiting this list to birds found in your backyard.

Also, I am by no means an ornithologist, so if anyone out there can correct me, please do so. Plus, i know each bird mention here has many different sub-species, i am only giving their common names. So lets start by the commonest:

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Burung Ciak Rumah)
Every Malaysian knows this bird. There are thousands of them in every town across the country. But until recently, nobody could tell me the name. But thanks to the magic of the Internet, i now know. Back in my childhood home, every evening these treesparrows would burrow in the hot sand in front of my house gate. In my grandfather’s house in Batu Gajah, the neighbourhood kids would trap them using the old basket propped by a stick with a string attached. They’d then roast them for a snack.

Common Myna (Burung Tiong)
This ranks a close second to the treesparrow above. It has a black head and brown body and a distinctive yellow swatch around the eyes. Near where i stay, this bird is actually more numerous than the treesparrow. In some areas, in the evenings the congregate in large trees, with their deafening cawing.

Crows (Gagak Hitam)
Commonly associated with Klang, this bird is seen by as a pest to most people. Some Chinese associated them with bad luck due to their colour. They can be found anywhere food or garbage is available. They are probably the easiest bird to identify with their glossy black colour and large beaks. In a bird show in Australia, i learnt that the crow is actually a highly intelligent bird. They have been observed that when they encounter nuts with shells that are too hard for them to break, they would leave them on the road and wait for cars to run over them with their tires. After it is crushed, they would then eat the nuts inside.

Pigeons (Burung Merpati)
When i think of pigeons, i think of the indian sundry shops in my home town. They feed the birds with seeds everyday, so dozens of these cooing birds hang around the area. And oh, don’t park your car near them, our you’ll get a few nasty surprises. They are usually of different shades of grey, but in every flock there is usually one or two white pigeons. Generally, pigeons aren’t regarded as smart birds, every few days, there is at least one dead pigeon run over by a car near my house.

Zebra Doves (since doves and pigeons are very closely related, i think they are also called Merpati)
They usually hang around with their larger cousins, the pigeons. Very friendly bird, a favourite to be kept as a pet. My dad had one too. Every time my dad approached it, it would bow and coo at the same time. In some towns (like PJ Old Town) they have pigeon singing competitions.

Swiftlets (Burung Walit)
I hesitate to add this on the list, because their numbers have been unnaturally increased into our towns due to swiftlet farming. But due to the fact that, decades ago when i was small, long before Malaysians started farming them, this bird was quite common in our towns, I’m adding it to the list. In those day, if you walk along the corridor of pre-war shophouses, you can see them nesting in the corners of the ceiling, leaving their white dropping everywhere.