“I was at the Venus Drive one evening in November looking for nocturnal invertebrates. By a stream I saw a big-eye whip snake (Ahaetulla mycterizans) on a bush and took a few picture of the reptile (above left). I then noticed a flash of movement and colour nearby and saw in a hollow on a small dead tree a Red-crowned Barbet (Megalaima rafflesii) (above right). I took a couple of record shots, and it fidgeted but did not otherwise stir. The hole is about 10-12 above ground. A few weeks later, on the same route late in the evening, I saw the barbet again in the hole. Though rather small (the stump was sapling sized), the site seems to be a good roost for this uncommon forest bird.”
Marcus Ng
Singapore
9th December 2009
