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Black-shouldered Kite caught a Garden Supple Skink

on 19th January 2014

Johnny Wee’s images of a Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) were photographed at Singapore’s Lorong Halus Wetland on 20th November 2013.

Subaraj Rajathurai examined the images of the kite with its prey and concluded that the latter is probably a Garden Supple Skink (Lygosoma bowringii).

This kite usually hunts from a perch. It keeps a close watch on any prey appearing below. Once the prey is sighted, the raptor lunges down, snatch the prey with its powerful talons and return to the perch LINK 1 and LINK 2. The raptor would then deals with the prey, attacking its head and tearing it up.

In the case of the Black-shouldered Kite, it probably attacked the head of the lizard before slowly swallowing it head-first until only the tail stuck out of its mouth.

Johnny Wee & Subaraj Rajathurai
Singapore
January 2014

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

2 Responses

  1. Sorry to disagree with the identification of the prey, but I doubt that the lizard in question is a supple skink. The supple skink has very small legs and is a good example of evolution towards leglessness in lizards. The supple skink is also small,(maximum length 12 cm) and in past, when it was more plentiful, was commonly sold in pet shops as food for shamas and magpie robins. A lizard so small would be swallowed in one gulp by a bird the size of a kite.

    The prey in the picture is probably a sub-adult specimen of either the mangrove skink, or a many-lined sun skink. The former is to be found in wetland habitats, while the latter is common in suburbs everywhere in Singapore. Both these species have clearly visible legs, and grow to between 26 to 35 cm in adult size.

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