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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,...
The call of the Asian Koel
From mid-October 2005 right through to February 2006, I had been hearing the call of the Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) almost every morning at about 6.30 am or thereabout. Sometimes I would hear the call later in the morning and once in a while in the evening as well. I have had people complaining of being awaken by the call as early as 4.30 to 5.00 am but in my area the birds apparently wake up later. These birds, there must be more than a pair, roost among matured... Read More
Gloria and her Pink-necked Green Pigeon 1
On 3rd July 2006 Gloria Seow spotted a female Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans ) sitting in a nest lodged between the branches of a tree (possibly Aphanamixis polystachys). The tree was just behind her first floor office in the MacPherson Road area, near to where the regular office smokers congregated to discuss their battle plans. For the first few days she saw only the female bird incubating the eggs. Only much later did she see the more colourful male at the... Read More
Attack of Dollarbirds’ nest by starlings
An earlier account saw how a Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda) attacked the nest of a pair of Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis) but was physically evicted from the nest. Here, the attack by a flock of Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis) was under different circumstances.
Meng and Melinda Chan were at Lim Chu Kang when they noticed a pair of Dollarbirds nesting in an open cavity at the top of a dead tree trunk. A small flock of Asian Glossy Starlings was... Read More
Purple Heron: Feeding behaviour
Herons are carnivores, feeding on a wide range of live animals found within their aquatic environment. These may include fish, frogs, snakes, lizards, birds and small mammals. They also take aquatic insects and crustaceans.
The long neck and sharp pointed bill are well adapted to harpoon preys. The bird stands motionless in shallow water among vegetation until a prey approaches. It then suddenly seizes it with the bill or if large enough, impales it. An account on the... Read More
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha manipulating caterpillar
On 23rd June 2006, photographer HP Lim came across a pair of Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus), each with a large hairy caterpillar between its beak. The birds were swinging the caterpillars vigorously, obviously to kill them. They next passed the entire length of the caterpillar back and forth between the beak to remove the stomach contents. The image above shows one of the bird with the somewhat flattened caterpillar between its beak.
The video clips... Read More
Pong pong tree
The pong pong (Cerbera odollam) is a medium sized tree that was once commonly planted along roads in Singapore. Its popularity then was because there was a plentiful supply of large fruits that collected on the ground below. These were collected and easily germinated to be used as wayside trees. With the maturity of the garden city and availability of a more varied selection of tree species, pong pong became less of a favourite. Its general shape is not all that attractive.... Read More
The elusive mangrove pitta
The emerging Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) of this habitat heralds news of good birding days ahead for Ayer Itam Dalam, Butterworth but… for a very limited time only for bird watchers (left).
The ability to walk the newly constructed boardwalk of chengal wood was a comforting thought, though the overall workmanship is shoddy and the length of the boardwalk severely compromised with ongoing construction of 2 roads cutting through the forest... Read More
Apparition pitta on a “trapeze”
A scheduled Saturday night of owling turned unforgettable for a birding trio. Dressed for the occasion, it was meant to be a night out, putting our new toys-a night vision aid and my ‘third eye’- headlights to a test.
We were just about to call it a night after having seen the owls as hoped. We decided to retrace our steps once more to the known site of the Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) in a hope to chalk up our owling list.
I believe 30th July 06 is to be one and... Read More
Nesting of Asian Paradise Flycatcher
The Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) is an impressive bird, especially the male morph whose long tail can reach more than 27 cm long. As the bird flies it’s long white tail dangles and sways suggestively like a butterfly fluttering about. The bird winters in tropical Asia and is seen in Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia as a passage migrant. Tan Swee Nam had an exciting encounter with a pair of nesting birds in Taman Negara, Malaysia on 7th June 2006 and... Read More
Durians and birds
About a year ago or earlier, Goh Si Guim came across a durian tree (Durio zibethinus) at Bukit Batok West with a ripenig fruit whose outer skin had a hole, probably gnawed by a squirrel. There was a Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) around the fruit. Whether it was actually eating the durian flesh or looking for insects was not established. Fuhai Heng managed to capture an image of the damaged fruit with the woodpecker on it (below). There the matter rested until James Heng... Read More
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