Vietnam Birding

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'.

What is that raptor bird in Vietnam with reddish-browned thighs?
It is Eurasian hobby.

Further identification features:
- Black or reddish-black upperparts;
- Clear black marks from the eyes alongside the sides of the neck which look like 'tears' (or moustaches).

Vietnam possesses an amazing avifauna that is surprising to quite a few birding enthusiasts and ornithologists. The country has diverse terrain and has the territory stretching in different climatic zones which helps to make the favorable habitats for different bird species. 

What is that warbler with a grey cap and white eyerings in Vietnam?

1/ Alström's warbler
- Bright eyerings;
- Grey cap and nape with two black stripes on the two sides;
- Olive-green with yellow tone face;
- Olive green back with dark grey at the wing tips;
- Yellow underparts;
- No wingbars.

2/ Martens's warbler

3/ Gray-crowned warbler
- Not quite bright eyerings;
- A thin break at the rear of the eyering.

4/ White-speckled warbler
- Bright eyerings;
- Some have a grey face;
- Mostly olive green back;
- One wing bar.

5/ Bianchi's warbler
- Bright eyerings;
- One wing bar.

6/ Grey-cheeked warbler
- Eyering has a wide break on the upper side;
- Grey throated;
- Head head.

What is that water bird in Vietnam with red eyes?

1/ Black-necked grebe or eared grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) 

The birds in Vietnam without tail (or with tail too short to be seen) could be:

1/ Pygmy cupwing (Pnoepyga pusilla) or pygmy wren-babbler

2/ Grey-bellied tesia (Tesia cyaniventer)

3/ White-browed piculet (Sasia ochracea)

4/ King quail (Synoicus chinensis), also known as the blue-breasted quail, Asian blue quail

5/ Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), also known as the coturnix quail

What is that scaly bird in Vietnam?

1/ Rock thrushes (Monticola)
Female)

2/ Scaly thrush, White's thrush...  (Zoothera)

3/ Green-legged partridge (Tropicoperdix chloropus), also known as the scaly-breasted partridge or green-legged hill-partridge

What that bird in Vietnam with yellow eyerings?

1/ northern hawk-cuckoo or rufous hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx hyperythrus) 
2/ Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo (Hierococcyx nisicolor), also known as the whistling hawk-cuckoo
3/  lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
4/ Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus) 
5/ cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
6/ Oriental cuckoo or Horsfield's cuckoo (Cuculus optatus) 
7/ Little-ringed plover

8/ Eurasian sparrowhawk

The yellow-vented birds in Vietnam could be:

1/ Yellow-vented green pigeon (Treron seimundi), 
also known as Seimunds's Pintail Pigeon

2/ Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier), 
or eastern yellow-vented bulbul,

3/ Yellow-vented warbler (Phylloscopus cantator) 

4/ Yellow-vented flowerpecker (Pachyglossa chrysorrhea)

5/ Sooty-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster)
Only some individuals have a yellow vent, some have red vent.

6/ Brown-breasted bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthorrhous)

What is difference between the Laced Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker in Vietnam?

These two woodpeckers are quite similar: gray face, black cap, red front...But the key differences are

1/ Laced Woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia)
Streaked belly.
If having red, then the red covers: front, cap, nape.
Stripes on the edge of the wing are horizontal compared to the body.

2/ Grey-headed Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus)
Gray, or whitish or yellowish belly.
If having red color, then the red only covers the front.
Stripes on the edge of the wing are vertical compared to the body.

What is difference between the Pale-headed Woodpecker, Rufous Woodpecker, Bay Woodpecker in Vietnam?

1/ Pale-headed Woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia)
Some with reddish front, the others with light olive-green head, rufous (reddish) wings.

2/ Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus)
Consistent color: either stripes of dark brown and black or rufous (reddish) and black

3/ Bay Woodpecker(Blythipicus pyrrhotis) 
Gray head or light rufous head,

Some with red color on the lower nape,

Dark (and striped) mantle,
Rufous, reddish (and striped with dark color) wings,