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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,...
Little Green Bee-eaters taking a sand bath
Jude Perera of Sri Lanka captured this video of a small flock of Little Green Bee-eaters (Merops orientalis) taking a sand bath in the Wilpattu National Park. Each bee-eater makes a small depression on the sand as it fluffs about to allow the sand to get between the feathers. This is part of its regular feather maintenance that includes preening and water bath.
The Little Green Bee-eater is common almost everywhere in dry-zone low country in Sri Lanka.
Over in Singapore and... Read More
Feldging moment of the Red Junglefowl
“A new brood of six Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) chicks was sighted at the perimeter of my condo on 5th March 2013. I was not sure if this was the fourth or fifth brood as there was a long interval of two months since I last saw the third brood LINK. On 7th March 2013, the number of chicks has reduced to five. I was fortunate to witness what seemed to be the first flight (fledging) of one of the chicks across a wide trench drain.
“Red Junglefowl chicks fledge ... Read More
Bidadari: A challenge to Nature Society’s birdwatchers…
Introduction
Earlier this month I posted “Bidadari: Birdwatchers and the call for its conservation” on this website LINK. Among other points, I stated that the area is typically “park-like” and the birds that find refuge there will always have other such areas, and there are many in Singapore, should Bidadari be developed. This obviously ruffled the feathers of the Nature Society (Singapore)’s birdwatchers.
Alan Ow Yong, the Nature Society (Singapore)’s... Read More
The beauty of the beast: Crested Serpent-eagle
On 28th March 2013, Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS took time off from his busy schedule to visit one of his favourite spot, Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands. While trekking up a mountain road through the montane forest, he encountered a Crested Serpent-eagle (Spilornis cheela malayensis) at about 2,000m ASL (above).
As Amar related his encounter, “Saw this adult sitting quietly in the middle of primary montane forest (off the road) and was quite tolerant of my presence,... Read More
BAR-TAILED GODWIT FEEDING AND PREENING
“In January 2013, I was captivated by the feeding activity of Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica, Maori name: Kuaka) as they foraged along the shallow waters and exposed substrate of the Estuary of Avon/Heathcote in South Island, New Zealand, tramping around with muddy bills and muddy feet (above).
“Very often, the entire length of their pinkish bills would be fully inserted into the soft sediment as they repeatedly probed for their food (above).
“A... Read More
Straw-headed Bulbul contact call
“Further to an earlier post LINK, I now have a video of a Straw-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) actually making the ‘clicking’ contact/alarm call in the last clip of the previous post.
“In my hurry to capture the action, I had not changed my camera’s settings, so apologies for the poor visual quality.”
Lena Chow
Singapore
6th April... Read More
Female Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker collects tiny bits of bark
For a few days in mid-March, a female Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) visited my potted Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora) that was placed in front of my bedroom window (below left). The visits came a few times in the morning and afternoon. Each visit was announced by her loud metallic tik-tik-tik that alerted me to her presence. The flowerpecker moved from branch to branch in rapid succession, picking up something small off the branches.
Each visit lasted... Read More
Black-Naped Oriole Behaving Like Mangrove Pitta
Samson Tan LINK documented a juvenile Black-Naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) at Singapore’s Pasir Ris Park that behaved rather strange. It hopped on the ground and looked into crab burrows as if seeking out food.
According to Samson, “This is exactly the same behavior that I observed on a Mangrove pitta. What a coincidence that this is the exact place/spot that I saw my first Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha)... Read More
Barn Swallow – plumage
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS photographed the Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) in Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia on 6th January 2013.
Wrote Amar, “I find the ‘common’ bird fascinating. These two Barn Swallows were very accommodating and beautiful in full sun. The images show plumage and under-wing structure. Note that one of them is less mature and developing full adult plumage (unless this is... Read More
PIED STILT FEEDING AND PREENING
“In January 2013, I spent some time at the Estuary of Avon/Heathcote (South Island, New Zealand) to admire the avifauna here, including a handful of Pied Stilts (Himantopus leucocephalus, Maori name: Poaka) (above).
“When the tide was out, they would wade through the shallow waters to pick out tiny morsels with their delicate, forceps-like bill (above). Occasionally, polychaete worms would be detected, extracted, and after a quick rinse to remove the mud,... Read More
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