On the morning of 5th May 2018 a female Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) was sighted near the summit of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve by photographer Ted Lee. This again shows the contributions of photographers to bird watching in Singapore.
According to Wang & Hails (2007), this is a very rare, non-breeding visitor to Singapore. In 1904 a male was collected from Woodlands. In the 1970s there were two unconfirmed sightings in Changi after which there were no other records.
To actually sight it at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve created much excitement among nature enthusiasts.
After all, this is the largest woodpecker in the world, besides being locally extinct for decade (see video below, documented by MeiLin Khoo). However, it may have flown from nearby Johore, Malaysia.
MeiLin Khoo
Singapore
5th May 2018
Reference:
Wang, L.K. & C. J. Hails, 2007. An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 15: 1-179.
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behaviour through photography and videography to a wider audience.