COMMON BIRDS ARE RARE IN THE FAR EAST -- Chhanda Bewtra One of the joys of birding in a new country is to ‘discover’ the common ‘new’ birds (so-called ‘trash birds’) easily seen all around. I have always enjoyed seeing them in my trips to India, Africa and Australia. And I was expecting a similar bonanza in Indonesia during my recent trip there. But I was sadly disappointed. Indonesia is a huge country of 18,000+ islands and zillion miles of shoreline spread along the equator. It has the rainforest second only to the Amazons and the country straddles the famous Wallace Line dividing Asian flora and fauna from that of Australia. My trip was not a strictly birding trip. We were mostly busy in scientific meeting, sight seeing, eating, beachcombing and shopping. Still, I carried ... read more