Africa to Borneo – The Magpie Robins

Magpie Robins hop along the forest floor, in gardens and cleared areas with their tails upright. They are one of the first birds the beginning photographer or bird watcher can add to their life list as they stop, scratch at the ground and search for hidden insects and other avian delicacies. Most prefer open forests and coastal areas.
The Shamas, a shy bird, are usually spotted at twilight and dawn in primary and secondary forests. They are known for their long tails and melodious singing. They often imitate the sounds of other birds. The species is nearly extinct in Singapore because they are captured by greedy individuals and sold to the public. The birds are in major decline throughout the region because of the bird pet trade. They are purchased and live only a few months in captivity because the owners soon become bored and they are neglected.
The Magpie-robins and Shamas are thought to have evolved in Southeast Asia from African relatives about 7.2-5.3 million years ago. How and why they arrived is not known but they are genetically closely related to their African, Middle East and south Asian cousins.
Shamas
Once the Shamas evolved, there are two possible scenarios for their further distribution on S.E. Asian Islands. The Philippine varieties were the result of two invasions from Sundaland, the area that encompasses Indonesia to the Wallace Line and Malaysia. The first wave resulted in the white browed Shamas (C. Luzoniensis) an isolated population on the island of Luzon.
The second wave, from Borneo, landed on the islands of Palawan and Cebu. They eventually evolved into C. niger and C. cebuensis.
The second hypothesis on the distribution has the birds arriving very early, about 27 million years ago in the Philippines. From there, they diversified and reinvaded Sundaland via Borneo.
The White Rumped Shama (C. malabaricus) arrived and became isolated in eastern and western Sundaland. The Borneo variety morphed into two separate subspecies, The White-capped (C.m stricklandii) to the north and Black- capped (C.m suavis) on the rest of the island.
Magpie- robins
The Magpie-robins, as good dispensers, arrived from Africa in masse and populated Indian Ocean and Sundaland. On the Philippine Islands they morphed into an all black form (C.mindanesis). Interestingly, they are not on the island of Palawan, maybe because of competition with the Black Shama (C. niger).
The original birds of Borneo and Java were black bellied while white bellied types arose on Sumatra, Malaya and the mainland. The black bellied birds on Borneo further evolved into two subspecies, adamsi in Sabah and pluto on the rest of the island. There is hybridization zone in central Borneo where the black and white forms meet.
The Refugia Hypothesis
This idea came about in 1969 by Jurgen Hafferin describing a possible scenario on the rise of species and sub species in the tropics. During the last ice age, the tropical rain forests were divided into islands by broad expanses of savannah and grasslands. This was because of a cooling and drying period. These isolated rain forests became known as “refugia”.
In each of these separated forests (refugia) the isolated flora and fauna became different unable to move from one area to another and intermingle. As time passed they evolved into separate sub species and species. This occurrence has been used to explain the different orangutan subspecies and ant and rodent species among others.
However, the union of disparate land masses from low sea levels could also explain the spread of different species. Birds could fly over them stopping for food instead of over open water. From Sumatra, the black rumped shama (C.m. suavis) could have spread east to Borneo meeting up with White-capped (C.m. stricklandii). Remember, all the land was connected because the waters were tied up in ice. When the ice melted and warmer temperatures returned, the land bridges were flooded, returning to the familiar map of today.
A huge puzzle yet to be solved is why the lowland species of birds are different in Sabah and not on the rest of the island. For example, both the Magpie-robin (C. saularis adamsi) and Shama (C. malabaricus stricklandii-possible separate species?) are found only in the north and nowhere else in the world.
The back yard gardener and amateur birder will get to know the Magpie-robins very quickly. They are familiar in most parts of open areas in Kuching. Our forest dwellers, the Shamas, will require waking up a bit early or wandering around 7 p.m. near the edge of the forest. Grab your binoculars and field guide and enjoy these birds that arrived from Africa many millions of years ago.

Borneo Spiderhunters

On our fabulous island of Borneo, most nature lovers know the popular spider hunters by their long beaks and loud calls. They are common around our gardens, the forests and areas where the environment is reclaiming the land.
Biologically, they are part of the familiar sun bird family (Nectariniidae), the males and females look the same and both sexes incubate eggs. They are not picky eaters consuming most insects and enjoy the nectar of many flowers. They have the uncanny ability to pluck a spider from the center of a web and not become entangled.
In a recent scientific paper, Dr. Robert G. Moyle and his team of world renowned scientists including our own Mustafa A. Rahman from the University of Malaysia Sarawak, explained how the spider hunters how they diversified.. There are eleven species scattered throughout our region and the researchers studied how they are related to each other and how they arrived to where they are today.
During the last ice age, about 20,000 or so years ago, ocean water became frozen lowering the depths of the seas. Land became exposed and the South China Sea and Straits of Malacca became a marshy reedy swamp. Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Java plus all the smaller islands became connected.
Collectively, the area is called Sundaland named after the plate on which they ride. The edges of the plate form parts of the famous Ring of Fire known for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are exceptions to the Sunda land mass. The waters around Sabah are too deep and were not connected. The Philippines are oceanic and have never been bridged.
The Straits between Java and Lombok are one deepest part of the seas and this division is known as Wallace’s Line.
Also during this period, the tops of mountains became cooler and dryer. Montane vegetation changed and moved down the slopes connecting previously isolated mountain ecosystem.Over the years, the animals became isolated by the mountain barriers and formed separate species. The lowland rainforest was restricted to isolated refuges around the coast of Borneo, in Western Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Populations in these isolated lowland forests have recently come back together, meeting in a hybrid zone near the Sabah-Sarawak border.
By catching spiderhunters in nets and collecting a few drops of blood and tissue samples or scouring museums and laboratories for tissue samples, the compared DNA from the nucleus and the mitochondria (remember the power house of the cell?). Just like the DNA can tell who your brother or sister is as compared to a stranger, it also informs about the relationship among the spider hunter species.
There are many Spider Hunters that nest in Borneo. The one found only on our island resides in the highlands of Sabah and North Sarawak. A unique creature, Whiteheads spiderhunter (A. juliae), is different from all the others because it is dark brown instead of green and has a streaky under belly.
There has been considerable confusion and controversy about the Gray- Breasted Spiderhunter (formerly, A. affinis). We now know it comprises of two species: the Streaky-breasted Spiderhunter (A.everetti) lives in the highlands of Borneo quite possibly because of isolation during the ice age. The Gray-breasted Spiderhunter (A. Modesta) lives in the lowlands.
There are many other interesting facts discovered by the scientists presented in this paper. The Spider Hunters can be divided into the three groups based on their relationships. See Table 1.
In a huge surprise, the Purple naped sun bird ( Nectariidae Hypogramma hypogrammicum) was found to be much closer, DNA speaking, to the spiderhunters than the sunbird. The similarities seem obvious when one thinks about it the authors point out. They both live in the same areas. Some species of Spiderhunters have under belly streaking. Both built similar purse nests under large leaves. It is roughly the same size as a couple of spiderhunter species. The authors caution, however, more research needs to be conducted before a genus shift should be further considered.
Grab you binoculars, insect repellant, hiking shoes and bird guide and head out to find the magnificent Spiderhunters. For a few species, you probably won’t have to leave the city and town areas where you live.
Information of this article was adapted from:
Moyle, Robert et al. 2011 Diversification of an endemic Southeast Asian Genus: Phylogenetic Relationships of the Spiderhunters (nectariniidae: Arachnothera) The Auk vol.128, no. 4, p. 777-778

About Borneo

Borneo, also known as the island in the clouds, is the third largest island in the world. Located south and east of the Malay Peninsula and southwest of the Philippine Islands, Borneo offers both mountains and dense rain forests and is divided into four main political areas – Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak and the sultanate of Brunei.
For much of its existence, Borneo has been separated from the world by its remoteness and foreboding landscape. Today, coastal regions are the most populous areas, with a population consisting of non-Muslim Dayaks, Islamic Malays, Europeans and Chinese. The more sparsely populated inland area consists of various native tribes who practice different languages and cultures.
Orangutans are said to be the closest of our living human relatives and some of the most studied creatures on Earth. They’re intelligent and highly sophisticated, living in the lush landscape of Borneo, but venturing into the human world so much so that they’ve adapted some of our habits, such as hitching a ride down the river – just as we take boats. The orangutan are the least studied apes in the wild because they live high in canopy of the rain forest, unlike other apes who are ground dwellers. Tom has tried to find them and says “believe me, it’s hard”.
Tom McLaughlin’s new book, Borneo Tom: Adventures of an Expat in Borneo, Essays & Insights, gives readers a whole new perspective of Southeast Asia and Borneo in particular. The book is all about how one human being from a culture so vastly different from Borneo lives in and loves a new land and its people.
Although the book is filled with humorous accounts of how Tom adapted to his new life in a foreign country, you’ll also learn about Borneo and some of the areas and topics dear to his
heart. The Matang Wildlife Center which lies in the Kubah National Park is one of those areas. It contains 179 hectares of lowland forest – a perfect habitat for orangutans and other wildlife and plant life of every species.
This wild life refuge has become a primary focus for author, Tom McLaughlin. The area offers educational pursuits, research opportunities and a picturesque area where visitors can relax and learn in a setting far beyond a classroom. Some of the proceeds from Tom’s book, Borneo Tom, will go toward the care and feeding of this special place in the world.
Another focus of Tom McLaughlin is his desire to educate others on the culture of those who populate Borneo – mainly, the Muslim population — and the faith of Islam. Tom believes that both the people and the faith have received a bad rap from the mainstream media in the past years. In the book, Tom shares his personal experiences in a humorous and enlightening way.
Borneo is a diverse area with over 15,000 plant species, over 1400 amphibians, birds, fish insects, mammals and reptiles. Even though it’s over 50% forest, Borneo is in danger of deforestation because of cultivation, fires, logging and other problems. Its swampy areas are along a coast edged with mangroves.

Alonso fastest in Canada practice

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Fernando Alonso, desperate to get his Formula One championship bid back on track, signalled his intentions for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix by topping the timesheets in Friday's practice sessions.
The Spaniard set the fastest overall time of the day when he lapped the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in one minute 14.818 seconds during Friday's second practice session.
Briton Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner at the Montreal street circuit, was second fastest overall in his Mercedes, just 0.012 behind Alonso's Ferrari.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean was third quickest for Lotus with Australia's Mark Webber fourth for Red Bull. Triple world champion Sebastian Vettel, could only manage seventh best.
Britain's Paul Di Resta was the surprise leader for Force India after the morning session, which began in light rain with puddles of water still on the track.
But he tumbled down the timesheets to 13th place in the afternoon session, when all the cars went much quicker after the track had dried and they switched their wet-weather tyres for softer compounds.
Despite two wins and a second-place finish from the previous six races this season, Alonso has slipped back to third place in the standings, 29 points behind Vettel after finishing seventh at the most recent race in Monaco.
The Spaniard has made no secret of the fact he believes he needs to finish in front of Germany's Vettel this weekend to start eating into his lead.
There were no major incidents in either session although Venezuela's Pastor Maldonado hit a wall in the morning, breaking the front wing of his Williams.
The drivers will have a third practice session on Saturday morning before official qualifying gets underway later that day.

Brazil scrap their way to 3-0 win over France

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil scrapped their way to a flattering 3-0 friendly win over France on Sunday in an ugly, disjointed match against opponents who are even worse off than themselves.

Second-half goals from Oscar, Hernanes and Lucas gave the under-fire Confederations Cup hosts a timely pre-tournament tonic in the city where coach Luiz Felipe Scolari built his reputation.
Brazil, who ended a six-match, 21-year winless run against France, had gone into the game under enormous pressure after only one win in six outings since Scolari returned for a second stint in the job last November.
While the result, if not the performance, will give Brazil some relief, France were left to face the long flight back from their brief South American tour reflecting on their fourth defeat in five matches this year and their fifth in 11 outings under Didier Deschamps.
Having rested Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, the toothless French, beaten 1-0 by Uruguay on Wednesday, barely tested Julio Cesar as they completed their trip without scoring.
"We didn't have the head nor the legs," Deschamps told TF1 television. "We played well for 20 minutes against Uruguay and for a short period against Brazil. Even in adversity, against superior teams, we should be able to do better."
RESTLESS CROWD
Brazil's win placated a restless 51,000 crowd at the Arena Gremio, which is not among the 2014 World Cup stadiums, after they had jeered forwards Neymar and Hulk during the game.
But, with only Oscar showing any real invention and Neymar once again struggling against a European defence, it was still a far from memorable display
"The team is still being put together," Scolari, fondly remembered at Gremio where he won several trophies during the mid-1990s, told reporters. "We are working to have a competitive team that will win matches."
The teams belied their reputations as two of international soccer's most graceful exponents, instead setting out to concentrate on nullifying each other, producing a soporific and undignified first half.
Brazil often had four players - two central defenders plus two defensive midfielders - behind the halfway line even when they were attacking, severely limiting their creative options.
The 2014 World Cup hosts' chances mainly came from crosses into the area, which the French defence dealt with comfortably, and the occasional long-range shot which invariably went high and wide.
France occasionally looked threatening when they came forward, yet never really tested Julio Cesar.
Brazil defender David Luiz showed his wild side as he escaped a yellow card for hacking at Karim Benzema's leg near the halfway line, and was booked shortly afterwards for a needless high challenge in midfield.
The five-times world champions, who had not scored in their last three meetings against France, finally broke the deadlock in the 54th minute when Oscar produced a virtuoso finish after Fred's low cross found him in the middle of the penalty area.
France had their best chance shortly afterwards though it came from a Brazilian player when David Luiz diverted a Mathieu Valbuena cross towards his own goal, forcing an excellent save from Julio Cesar.
Scolari was jeered by the crowd when he took off Oscar in the 65th minute, yet two of his substitutes ended up on the scoresheet.
Hernanes made it 2-0 in the 85th minute with a left-foot shot from outside the penalty area which went in off the post after the ball had been teed up to him by Neymar, who was generally disappointing.
Lucas, who replaced Oscar, converted a penalty in stoppage time after a foul on Marcelo as he burst into the penalty area, completing Brazil's first win over France since 1992.
(Reporting by Tatiane Ramil in Sao Paulo; Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Sonia Oxley)

Vitesse midfielder Van Ginkel flattered by Chelsea interest

Vitesse youngster Marco van Ginkel has admitted that he is flattered by the interest of Chelsea.

Goal exclusively revealed last month that the Blues were close to making the Netherlands international the first signing of Jose Mourinho's second reign at Stamford Bridge.

And the 20-year-old says he is pleased to hear of the Premier League club's admiration for him.

"I'm not doing this now, but I'm flattered by their interest," he said after Jong Oranje's 5-1 victory over Russia in the Under-21 European Championship.

Cor Pot's men sealed qualification for the semi-finals of the tournament in Israel with the win, which followed their 3-2 victory over rivals Germany in their first game.

Van Ginkel scored eight goals in 33 Eredivisie games as Vitesse sealed a place in next season's Europa League with a fourth-placed finish.

Source of US intel leak goes public despite probe threat

A 29-year-old government contractor revealed himself as the source behind bombshell leaks of US monitoring of Internet users and phone records, as US intelligence pressed for a criminal probe.

Edward Snowden, who has been working at the National Security Agency for the past four years, admitted his role in a video interview posted on the website of The Guardian, the first newspaper to publish the leaked information.
"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them," Snowden said, speaking in Hong Kong.
He said he had gone public because he could not "allow the US government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
A former technical assistant for the CIA, Snowden worked for the NSA as an employee of various outside contractors, including Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton.
In a statement, Booz Allen Hamilton confirmed Snowden had been an employee for "less than three months" and promised to help US authorities investigate the "shocking" claim that he had leaked classified information.
Snowden flew to Hong Kong on May 20 after copying the last set of documents he intended to disclose at the NSA's office in Hawaii, the Guardian said, adding that he has remained there ever since, holed up in a hotel room.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own legal rules, has an extradition treaty with the United States. The British-based Guardian said it had revealed Snowden's identity at his own request.
In a statement responding to Snowden's decision to go public on Sunday, the office of the Director of National Intelligence said the matter had now been "referred to the Department of Justice."
"The intelligence community is currently reviewing the damage that has been done by these recent disclosures. Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by the law."
The Justice Department confirmed it had launched an investigation into the disclosures but declined further comment.
The leaks published in The Guardian and The Washington Post have set off a furor, with President Barack Obama and the chief of US intelligence defending the secret programs as vital to keeping Americans safe.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed on Saturday that the NSA uses a program called PRISM to gather data trails left by targeted foreign citizens using the Internet outside the United States.
A separate program, also disclosed by The Guardian, has been used to scoop up the telephone records of millions of Americans.
In an interview with NBC News aired on Sunday, Clapper called the disclosures "literally gut-wrenching" and said they had caused "huge, grave damage" to US intelligence capabilities.
"The NSA has filed a crimes report on this already," he said, before Snowden's identity was revealed. "This is someone who for whatever reason has chosen to violate a sacred trust for this country."
Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who brought to light the PRISM program and the separate program to gather US phone records, said the public had a right to know and openly debate what the government was doing.
"Every time there's a whistleblower, someone who exposes government wrongdoing, the tactic is to demonize them as a traitor," he told ABC.
Clapper insisted two plots have been foiled through information obtained through the programs, both in 2009 -- one, a bomb attack on New York subways, and another linked to David Headley, a conspirator in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The intelligence chief has declassified some details of the PRISM program in the face of a storm of controversy over suggestions the government had backdoor access to the servers of Internet giants like Google, Facebook and Yahoo.
Internet service providers denied they had given the government unfettered access to customer data, insisting they did so only when compelled by law.
Under PRISM, which has been running for six years, the US National Security Agency can issue directives to Internet firms demanding access to emails, online chats, pictures, files, videos and more, uploaded by foreign users.
But Clapper said the government must apply to a secret court for permission to target individuals or entities, and then issue a request to the service provider.
Obama has defended the data trawls, saying America was "going to have to make some choices between balancing privacy and security to protect against terror." There was no immediate White House reaction to Snowden's declaration.