Bits and pieces of natural history errata from various adventures. 

A male Western Parotia displaying for the affections of some very discerning females in the mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula on the island of New Guinea. One of the most visually spectacular displays in nature. 

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Hair-crested Drongos in Borneo consistently use white fungus-afflicted twigs for use in their nests. These are rare in the forest and must require some serious effort to find. Why do they do this? Anti-microbial properties? An ideal combination of flexibility and strength? Camouflage? Who knows, but it's pretty cool. 

The Bornean subspecies of Rajah Scops-Owl hadn't been seen alive in almost 100 years when our crew found this individual on one of our research plots on Mt. Kinabalu. Why the absence? Are they genuinely rare? Do they only occupy a narrow elevational range rarely accessed by birders and researchers? Are they simply overlooked? 

 This is a camera trap image of a Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata) from Kinabalu Park in Malaysian Borneo. Relatively little is known about it's ecology and distribution and this record from ~1500m is much higher than it is commonly known to occur. Much work on rare mammals in the tropics has focused on low-elevation forest where many of these species most commonly occur. I am collaborating with Sabah Parks on a large-scale camera-trapping project to investigate the use of mid and high-elevation forests by rare mammals. Understanding their use of these habitats will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the conservation value of these forests. 

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This neonate flying squirrel was found while checking the contents of a domed nest thought to belong to a White-browed Shortwing in Kinabalu Park, Borneo. Any thoughts regarding identity would be greatly appreciated.