27-Dec-06 Judy&Crow

[horace2264]

Went butts hunting at TBHP and AHBT in between rains. Pretty quiet at both sites generally, and no sign of dingy line blue, my target for the day.

At TBHP managed to obtain record shot of a male striped blue crow high up in the tree. Also met a very cooperative male Malay plum judy (pic 1) dog-fighting with a pair of choocalate pansies.

At AHBT, saw this restless crow butts soaring high and low around the trail, stopping only briefly from time to time. Managed record shots of both underside (pic 2) and upperside (pic 3). Is this the king crow?

Horace

[Cigaritis wong]

Nice judy is it found in a bright area? doesn't look so from your bright bg. And the crow open wing shot would be spectacular if u got it sharp. But anway, still can see the brilliance of the blue hue there. Good job.

[horace2264]

Nice judy is it found in a bright area? doesn't look so from your bright bg. And the crow open wing shot would be spectacular if u got it sharp. But anway, still can see the brilliance of the blue hue there. Good job.

With the gloomy sky whole day, there wasn't much bright bg to work with.
In the judy shot, the background was actually those grey colored road size barrier lining the road round the hill top.

The crow was going through the open-and-close routine, motion blur plus hand shake resulted in this very much out of focus shot. The reason I posted it was to provide more info. for the butts. masters here to confirm its ID.

Horace

[Commander]

Nice Judy shot. The grey appears almost light violet to me, and it's a pleasant colour for the deep red of the Malayan Plum Judy.

The Crow is a King Crow. The underside spots are a bit on the small side but your upperside shot confirms it. The large violet apical markings are characteristic of the King Crow. The only other species of this size and almost similar markings, the Malayan Crow, does not have the violet sheen and has much smaller apical spots.

It's good that you had a shot of the upperside. Definitely helps in confirming the ID. It further adds value in that we can see the hindwing's tornal brand (appearing as a bluish sheen) and also the curved termen margin of the forewings, which indicates that this is a male King Crow.

[horace2264]

Nice Judy shot. The grey appears almost light violet to me, and it's a pleasant colour for the deep red of the Malayan Plum Judy.

The Crow is a King Crow. The underside spots are a bit on the small side but your upperside shot confirms it. The large violet apical markings are characteristic of the King Crow. The only other species of this size and almost similar markings, the Malayan Crow, does not have the violet sheen and has much smaller apical spots.

It's good that you had a shot of the upperside. Definitely helps in confirming the ID. It further adds value in that we can see the hindwing's tornal brand (appearing as a bluish sheen) and also the curved termen margin of the forewings, which indicates that this is a male King Crow.

Thanks Khew for your comments on the Judy and the ID confirmation of the King Crow. Although the best match against the checklist was King Crow, I was initially a bit doubtful about the size and shape of some of the underside dots, and worried about the not so exact match against the upperside given in C&P4 plate 13 fig. 11. Your expert comments on the various distinguishing features of the male King Crow are definitely very helpful, much appreciated!

Horace