Birds and Nature Photography in Malaysia

16 June 2026

Testing Canon EOS R5 Mark II

Trying out my new Canon EOS R5 Mark II on backyard birds.

The EF400mm f5.6 lens, now 10 years old, is still my go-to, attached to an EF to R Canon adapter.

Although it is not a native R lens, it works well. Since it has no image stabilizer I used a fast shutter speed (1/2000 sec for all the pics below).

Autofocus is stunningly fast with bird eyes in focus. Now, birds in flight shots are easy to capture.




 

15 June 2026

Juvenile Yellow-vented Bulbul on Ixora Flowers

Juvenile yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier analis) on Ixora chinensis

In juvenile birds, the "bill gape" refers to the wide open mouth, often with brightly colored or fleshy "lips" (gape flanges), which is a visual cue to signal to parents that they are hungry and ready to be fed. (AI overview)

Gape: This is a fleshy area at the base of the bill where the upper and lower mandibles meet. In young birds, it is often enlarged or may seem so because the birds have not developed their mature feathers to help conceal it, and it may be brightly colored so their mouths are more noticeable when they beg for food. In some species, such as the bananaquit, the gape remains colorful in adult birds. 

(from Leebird.com https://leesbird.com)

Ixora Chinensis

This species is native to Cambodia, Southeast China, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. And it has been introduced into Bangladesh, Caroline Islands, Colombia, Malaysia, and the Mariana Islands.

(Wikipedia)