Lena Chow sent in the above image and the video clip below of a pair of Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) to wish readers a Happy Valentine’s Day.
According to folklore, birds choose their mates on February 14th. And to the Chinese of old, doves represent faithfulness, filial piety and longevity. So doves have always been used as symbols of Valentine’s Day. And rightly, so should pigeons, as both belong to the family Columbidae.
Have a Happy Valentine’s... Read More
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The Birds of Singapore – an online book
In May 1943, GC Madoc published “An Introduction to Malayan Birds.” He wrote his manuscript in Singapore’s Changi Prison where he was interned when the country fell into the...
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Videocam: A powerful tool for studying birds
1. Collecting birds: In the 19th century the equipment needed to study birds was the gun. Another skill necessary was a good stuffing technique in order to preserve the specimens....
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Documenting bird calls and songs
Many local birdwatchers are able to recognise the birds behind the songs. However, interest in most cases ends there except for a few who make basic recordings. Erik Mobrand...
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Should attempts be made to tame wild birds?
The first part of the series by aviculturist Lee Chiu San deals with whether birds can be tamed and whether they will remain tamed. The second part looks at whether it is...
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Postings your observations and images
Why should you post your observations and images? Southeast Asian birds are poorly studied in terms of behaviour and ecology. By posting your observations (and this include...
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Nature Society: The struggle for Singapore’s nature areas
The above paper has just been published. Nature in Singapore is a peer-reviewed, online journal that publishes articles on the flora and fauna (e.g., biology, botany, zoology,...
Happy Valentine’s Day
Lena Chow sent in the above image and the video clip below of a pair of Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) to wish readers a Happy Valentine’s Day.
According to folklore, birds choose their mates on February 14th. And to the Chinese of old, doves represent faithfulness, filial piety and longevity. So doves have always been used as symbols of Valentine’s Day. And rightly, so should pigeons, as both belong to the family Columbidae.
Have a Happy Valentine’s... Read More
Pied Imperial-pigeon feeding on Rhopaloblaste ceramica fruits
At about 1000 hours on 16th December 2012, there was a sudden raining of fruits coming from my ceram palm (Rhopaloblaste ceramica) outside my bedroom window. Attracted by the noise of the falling fruits, I was pleasantly surprised to witness a flock of 8-10 white pigeons with black wing feathers and tails pecking on the fruits. These were Pied Imperial-pigeons (Ducula bicolor), rare non-breeding visitors or are they free-flyers from the Jurong Bird Park, as suggested by... Read More
‘CLOCKING’ BIRDS IN PAPUA (IRIAN JAYA)
“How does an observer, having first sighted a bird, convey its location to a second bird observer?
“Does he/she finger point direction of the bird and or proceed to provide a lengthy description of its exact location? Something like-‘behind that twisted branch… towards the right, just next to a big leaf, a bit further up, next to the other tree’ etc.. amongst a host of other trees, only much to viewers’ dismay, see the bird takes flight.
“Why do... Read More
Thick-billed Green-pigeon and Ficus virens
Angie Ng came across a large Grey Fig (Ficus virens) with branches thick with figs on 23rd October 2012. Among the many birds feasting on the figs were Thick-billed Green-pigeons (Treron curvirostra), an uncommon resident species (above).
A few days earlier, Lena Chow was watching a flock of Thick-billed Green-pigeons gorging themselves on the same figs at Bukit Brown. Her video above shows “a gorgeous male pigeon having his fill.”
This would be a new item for... Read More
Spotted Dove bathing
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS‘s image of a Spotted Dove (Stigmatopelia chinensis) was taken at Tambun in Perak, Malaysia. The habitat was a semi-urban location with limestone hills nearby. It was during a bright mid-morning on 6th August 2012.
“Most birds like a nice bath and a muddy puddle will have to do at times,” wrote... Read More
Attacked by a Rock Pigeon
“On 30th July 2012 morning at around 7.30am, a very interesting and beautiful pigeon super battle flight manoeuver attacked a human – at Commonwealth Avenue West.
“Standing beside the bus stop, I looked up into the sky, at the pine and mango trees. From the corner of my left eye I noticed a large grey pigeon with wings spread out (like an eagle getting ready to attack a prey), flying, charging towards my direction, about 3m away and 3m above the ground.... Read More
Pink-necked Green-pigeon building nest
For about a week in mid-February 2012, a male Pink-necked Green-pigeon (Treron vernans) was seen flying regularly to my neighbour’s fig (Ficus sp.) tree, each time bringing a slender piece of twig (above). The pigeon would make a trip once every few minutes for the entire morning. The main source of his twigs was a terap (Artocarpus odoratissimus) tree in my garden where dead twigs of the vine Bauhinia kockiana abound LINK.
He spent less than a minute in the tree,... Read More
Peaceful (Zebra) Dove: 4. Fledging
“This is the 4th Update on the nesting Peaceful (Zebra) Doves with the current observation period = 26/02/2012 – 11/03/2012.
“The links to the earlier three parts can be seen HERE, HERE and HERE.
“The chicks fledged on 26/02/2012. The older one at lunch 12-1pm and the younger one in the evening 6-7pm. The image above (left) shows the elder sibling enjoying freedom with a parent. To encourage the younger one to leave the nest the parent stayed in a nearby... Read More
Peaceful (Zebra) Dove: 3. Brooding
“This is the third update on the nesting Peaceful (Zebra) Doves (Geopelia striata), the current observation period = 20-25/02/2012.
“We continued to watches these doves in our garden, frequently throughout the day. Both adult and juvenile birds have become very comfortable with us and allow watching from below without any signs of fear. We are allowed to watch feeding comfortably. Photography is tough from below as impaired by lots of leaves/branches.
“The... Read More
Peaceful (Zebra) Dove: 2. Incubating to brooding
The first part of the series can be read HERE.
Note: See this excellent write up by Slim Sreedharan on Peaceful Doves in my region LINK.
12-19/02/2012
“On the 14th Feb (Day 14) we found one egg shell at the base of the nest (below left). It was not present at 12 noon but when I came home for lunch at 12.45pm it was lying just below the nest, suggesting the chick had just hatched and shell removed. We did not find the second egg shell. So we can be fairly sure that one... Read More
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