A juvenile Ruddy Kingfisher that had caught a spotted cricket. It had plunged into a Chuetsu palm thicket to take it.

An adult Ruddy Kingfisher beginning its moult into winter plumage. The moult is starting around the face.

This individual has a darkened bill. The flight feathers and tail are worn to tatters, right down to the shafts.

It was hunting exclusively in low spots just a few tens of centimetres above the ground.

The claws are also visibly darkened. I wonder what condition it will be in at its wintering grounds.

I went along the forest road looking for Emerald Doves — there were about three, but they were all distant or hidden deep in the scrub with branches and leaves in the way. The usual Crested Serpent Eagle was perched at ease in a Chinaberry tree, waiting for prey.