The Unfeathered Bird by Katrina van Grouw is now available in bookstores (left). Published by Princeton University Press, the 304-page book is filled with more than 300 illustrations – not birds in all their colourful glory but in their unfeathered glory. These illustrations are devoid of feathers. Many show muscles while others the skeletal systems. All were meticulously drawn from actual specimens in order to maintain scientific accuracy. After all, author Katrina is a... Read More

This is the final part of the series: A side trip to the Corbett Tiger Sanctuary. The links to the earlier parts… HERE 1, HERE 2 and HERE 3. “After my packaged tour on the Palace on Wheels, I made a side trip of four days to the Corbett Tiger Sanctuary (above). Depending on your preferences or point of view, it could be considered a tour worth taking. “The upsides were: 1) The cost for accommodation was reasonable, about US$120 per night per couple,... Read More

Part 1 and 2 of Passage to India can be viewed HERE and HERE. This is the third part… “The Ringneck Parakeet, Psittacula krameri, is one of the most widespread parrots in the world (above left). The natural range extends from Africa through India, and escaped pets have established large populations in Singapore and Malaysia, where they are displacing the native Long-tailed Parakeet, Psittacula longicauda. The Indian subspecies, manillensis, is common all... Read More

Part 1 of the Passage to India can be viewed HERE. This is the second part… “The Red-Wattled Lapwing, Vanellus indicus, is an Indian native (below left). There is some discussion as to whether or not this bird is a natural visitor to Singapore, or are those that we see here actually imported foreign talent brought in by the zoo and bird park. No argument about the status of the bird in the picture. “Common Sandpipers, Actitis hypoleucos, are passage... Read More

“I let the wife choose the destination for the trip to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We wanted a little luxury. So although we are both nature lovers, that ruled out trips to see polar bears or gorillas in the wild, even though it would have been nice to catch up with close relatives. Those tours involved carrying backpacks, rowing inflatable boats and helping with housekeeping chores. They appeared too much like a cross between preparing for an expedition... Read More

On 21st December 2012, Singapore’s National Library Board (NLB) invited the Bird Ecology Study Group (BESG) to pledge its website to the Singapore Memory Project as part of NLB’s efforts to collect memories that are already manifested in existing online channels LINK. According to the note: “The Singapore Memory Project (SMP) is a national initiative to collect, preserve and provide access to Singapore’s knowledge materials. Spearheaded by NLB, the SMP... Read More

The Year in Review It has been a year since the Bird Ecology Study Group [BESG] and the Nature Society (Singapore) [NSS] went on their separate ways LINK. And during this period contributions continued to pour in such that we managed to post a total of 372 items on bird behaviour. We now have a total of 2,686 posts since mid-2005 when we started operation LINK. When the clock struck twelve to herald in the new year, the website’s counter recorded 3,218,174 hits. This is... Read More