Vietnam Birding

The difference between the Lesser Yellownape and the Greater Yellownape:

1/ Lesser Yellownape

- Head: with red colors;

- Underparts: Barred with white and gray;

2/ Greater Yellownape

- Head: without red colors;

- Underparts: all gray;

The difference between the Ochraceous Bulbul and the Puff-throated Bulbul:

1/ Ochraceous Bulbul

Plumage: Brownish-olive upperparts and duller, less yellowish underparts.

2/ Puff-throated Bulbul

Plumage: Olive upperparts with contrasting paler, more yellowish underparts.

The male of either of these two birds has an orange breast and the female has green mostly.

The difference between the Painted Stork and the Milky Stork in Vietnam:

1/ Painted Stork
- Painted stork has 'stain' like paint on the rump and upper tailcoverts.
- Some individuals have ashy-browned colors.

2/ Milky Stork
- Some individuals have ashy colors.

The difference between Pale Blue, Blue-and-White, Hainan Flycatchers in Vietnam:

1/ Pale Blue Flycatcher
Cyornis unicolor
The male have light blue upper parts and very light blue and white lower parts.
The female have gray-brown colors, lack of warm coloration.

2/ Blue-and-white Flycatcher
Cyanoptila cyanomelana

The male have black face, black throat, black breast, royal blue upperparts.
The female have brown upperparts.

3/ Hainan Blue Flycatcher
Cyornis hainanus
The male have sapphire-blue upperparts, and sapphire-blue face. Some are with sapphire-blue throat or white throat or orange throat. Some are with black wings.
The female have orange breast and brown with warm tint uppperparts

Both these two birds could have brownish head, rufous head or reddish brown head.

The difference between Rufous-headed Parrotbill and Short-tailed Parrotbill in Vietnam:

1/ Rufous-headed parrotbill (Paradoxornis bakeri), or greater rufous-headed parrotbill,

- Longer tail length per body;

- Whitish or beighe throat

2/ Short-tailed parrotbill (Suthora davidiana)

- Shorter tail length per body;

- Black throat

The difference between the Scarlet Minivet and the other colorful minivets in Vietnam:

1/ Scarlet Minivet:

Wings are blotched with the bright color (either red or yellow which is disjunct from the black or grey color).

Female has the front yellow.

2/ Other Minivets

The bright color is not blotched, but adjunct or connected

The difference between the Spotted Dove and the Oriental Turtle-Dove:

The Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo is a cuckoo but it looks similar to many drongo species. These birds are mostly distinguished by the areas with glossy hair and those with velvet (without gloss) hair: the face, the head, the hood. In forests with thick canopy lacking light and quick sighting, this is often quite tricky.

The difference between Taiga Flycatcher and Red-breasted Flycatcher in Vietnam:

1/ Taiga Flycatcher (Ficedula albicilla)
- Pale bill base;
- Restricted orange patch and gray throat wash in breeding male.

2/ Red-breasted Flycatcher  (Ficedula parva)
- Dark bill;
- More extensive orange throat in breeding male.

These two birds are very similar white black face, white cheek, black throat, chestnut back.

The difference between the White-cheeked Laughingthrush and the Black-throated Laughingthrush:

The difference between the White-hooded Babbler and the Collared Babbler:

1/ White-hooded Babbler: not clear mark between the neck and the breast.

2/ Collared Babbler: well-defined colors between the neck and the breast.

How to differenciate the Black Drongo and the Bronzed Drongo in nature in Vietnam:

1/ Black Drongo: consistent black color, slightly bigger in size

2/ Bronzed Drongo: there is an area from the cape to the wings with black sheen, glossiness; the face is black surrounded by black glossiness.

What is that flycatcher in Vietnam with dark primaries?
The outer edge of the wings has visibly darker colors compared to the inner of the wing: the primaries are darker than the other feathers of the wings.

1/ Brown-breasted flycatcher or Layard's flycatcher (Muscicapa muttui)

How to identify Gray-eyed Bulbul in Vietnam?

- Grey-eyed;
- White or whitish puffed throat;
- Unique feathers on the front, the crown and the nape which look like a low crest;
- Some have a rufous or reddish brown, or yellowish vent.

The Indian Cuckoo, the Common Cuckoo and the Oriental Cuckoo all may have a gray head, bill with yellow color to the base, yellow legs which make them very hard to be identified in the wild. They have distinctive sounds but we do not hear their songs and calls that often.

How to identify the dark blue-and-orange niltavas in Vietnam?

How to identify the Thick-billed Green-Pigeon from other green-pigeons in the wild in Vietnam?
- Greenish bill with red base;
- Broad bluish-green eye ring.

Leaf warblers are warblers of the genus phylloscopus, of the family Phylloscopidae.
Most leaf warblers have wingbars and what is that leaf warbler in Vietnam without wingbar?

1/ Tickell's leaf warbler (Phylloscopus affinis)

2/ Radde's warbler (Phylloscopus schwarzi)

3/ Yellow-streaked Warbler
Phylloscopus armandii

4/ Dusky warbler (Phylloscopus fuscatus) 

5/ Buff-throated Warbler
Phylloscopus subaffinis

6/ Gray-hooded Warbler
Phylloscopus xanthoschistos

What is that raptor bird in Vietnam with reddish-browned back?
It is quite definitive the Common Kestrel or Eurasian Kestrel.

Further identification features:
- Black scaly patterns or chevrons all over the body (underparts and upperparts);
- Clear black marks from the eyes alongside the sides of the neck which look like 'tears'.