Search

BESG’s Russian connection

on 6th August 2008

Tatiana Petrova, an ornithologist from St Petersburg, Russia wrote to BESG’s forum earlier, posting images of a chick a friend in Singapore picked up near Bukit Gombak Mass Rapid Transit Station.

“I help people to raise picked nestlings of passerines and swifts. But about this bird, I was asked by one person who lives in Singapore. I’m not a specialist on Asian birds and it is a trouble for me to decide is it any starling or Turdidae bird to say how to feed it.”

Tatiana then connected BESG with a Julia who resides in Singapore. Julia wrote: “I found it near Bukit Gombak MRT, around Blk 346. The bird was sitting, when I came closer he wanted to run away, but can’t walk properly yet, so it was easy to catch him.

“I found him before going to work, and now it has been 1.5 days that he’s at home, and I’ve been feeding him with parrots baby mixture, that I had at home. He eats, but not very willingly. I’m sure he needs different food, but I’m not sure what kind of food. Today I add some egg into the mixture. He didn’t want to eat, so I had to force him.

“Now I start to worry about him a bit – he’s very quiet. He makes noise and moves only when I take him into hands. All other time he’s sitting quietly in a box. He never begs for food. Maybe he’s sick, but I can’t see any damages outside…

“Would be great if you could help me to identify what kind of bird it is.

We tentatively identified the chick as a starling but on closer examination both our bird specialists, R. Subaraj and KC Tsang, thought it could not be an Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis).

The above shows the effectiveness of BESG’s website in bird behaviour and its educational value worldwide. BESG’s global outreach is obvious – we got connected with the person rescuing the chick in Singapore via St Petersburg, Russia.

Julia subsequently informed that the chick died. If anyone can ID the chick, please let us know.

Julia B. & Tatiana Petrova
Singapore-Russia
August 2008

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
712
362
Visitors Today
51593960
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)