Search

Pellets from Tuas: 10. Black-shouldered Kite’s prey and bone fragments in the pellets

on 6th June 2015

On 12th February 2015, Melinda Chan collected two pellets from Tuas, around the area where the pair of Black-shouldered Kites (Elanus caeruleus) was nesting LINK.

One pellet was larger than the other: 55x30x25mm (above) as compared to 21x20x15mm (below). The larger was oval and very tightly packed in hairs. The smaller was disk-shaped, 21x20x15mm, also covered with hairs bur not as tightly packed.

The larger pellet was somewhat smaller than an earlier one that contained a complete skull, believed to come from a Common Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

However, on dissecting this larger pellet, there was no skull, only bone fragments from the head that included jaw bones, loose molars, an incisor, vertebrae, etc. (above). But there was no complete skull. So in all probably the pellet came from a kite that had fed on parts of the mouse head and not from an owl LINK.

The smaller disk-shaped pellet had only loose bones like vertebrae, long bones, claws and a tail, the end portion was still covered with skin and hairs (above, below).

There was also a pair of incisors but no molars (below). Also found was a piece that could be part of a jawbone and other miscellaneous pieces.

These two pellets most probably came from the juvenile kites that were then about a month old – fed with different parts of the mouse.

It is speculated that one juvenile was fed with the front portion of the mouse (thus the presence of jaws and molars) while the other the rear portion (thus the presence of the tail) (above).

Credit: Melinda Chan (pellets), Chan Yoke Meng (image of Black-shouldered Kite) & YC Wee (images of pellets and bone fragments). Scale in cm and mm.

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
974
8493
Visitors Today
51723381
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)