Monthly Archives: June 2014

Pacific Black Duck in Queensland

The Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) is found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and islands in the southwestern Pacific.

The apartment I stayed in at Queensland, Australia had a pond just outside, which is home to a family of at least a dozen of these ducks. As we do not get to see ducks all that often back in Singapore, my family had great fun watching them go about their daily routine.

The clear blue water of the pond creates a calm and pleasant backdrop for this picture.

It is always nice to see the ducks in flight. In this case, it was in the process of landing with the feet down.

The bright splashes of water after landing make for an interesting and dynamic scene.

Spotted Nutcracker in Bhutan

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The Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) seems to have a wide range worldwide, and is pretty common within its range. But in tropical Singapore, we do not have the opportunity to see this species.

I was happy to see this particular bird at eye level, as my previous encounters were with birds high up in the tree. This bird was also high up, but I was in a monastery in the mountains and the tree where this bird was perched was below it.

This particular bird was perched on a unique looking branch, with hanging lichens (old man’s beard), which added much character to the picture.

Tui in New Zealand

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The Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic New Zealand bird. It belongs to the honeyeater family. Its name is derived from the Maori language. In earlier times, the English settlers called it the parson bird, because of its dark plumage with white neck feathers.

The Tui photographed here is from a farm stay at Matamata district, in the North Island in December 2013. It is interesting to note that its feathers has a metallic blue-green sheen to their underlying black colour that changes hue depending on the angle of light.

It is seen here with it’s favourite plant, the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). The curvature of the bird’s bill matches the shape of the flower of the flax plant, enabling easy feeding of the nectar. This is a good example of mutualistic coevolution.

The orange colour around the bird’s bill and forecrown is actually the pollen of the flax plant. So for the price of some sweet nectar, the Tui gladly acts as a pollinator of the plant.

Interestingly, sometimes the nectar ferments and as a result, Tuis can be seen flying drunk. Perhaps that’s why there is a brand of beer called Tui!

Oriental Scops Owl at Kaeng Krachan National Park

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The Oriental Scops Owl (Otus sunia) is a rare migrant to Singapore. I have not had the opportunity to see it locally yet. So when the opportunity came to see it in Thailand, I gladly made the night trek through flooded pathway, knee deep in water to one of its known site at Kaeng Krachan National Park in July 2013.

There in a hide, the guide played a short call, and immediately the owl showed itself. It then proceeded to call loudly while scanning it’s surroundings.

You can see that it is calling from the raised throat area.

All the photographs were taken illuminated by 2 flashlights. This permitted me to also capture a video of the owl in action.

Bush Stone-curlew of Queensland

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The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a endemic bird of Australia. It is rather large, ground dwelling nocturnal bird. At night it hunts for small animals and insects.

I first saw this bird at night in a beach resort on a trip to Queensland, Australia in September 2012. It stayed motionless as I neared it. A pretty eerie sight. Apparently they hunt for small animals and insects in the night.

Early next morning, a few were seen gathered next to a building and a few wandered off to the lawn of the said building. They will walk quickly, and then suddenly stop motionless. A rather peculiar behaviour.

They seem very confiding, although the fact that they were in a beach resort had something to do with it.

A close-up of it’s head. This is an uncropped picture, showing how very close I was to the bird, without it even moving a muscle.

Later in the day, they were gone. I did see one hiding in a dense bush, so their survival skill is still present.

Pika in Bhutan

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Just a short note on this pika that I found in April 2012 at Chelela Pass, Bhutan. I believe it is the Moupin Pika (Ochotona thibetana), but I am not 100% sure.

In general, pikas are found in colder climate up in the mountains. They are related to the rabbits and hares. They look cute with rounded ears, short limbs and no external tail.

Blue-winged Leafbirds of Jelutong Tower

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The Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis) is found mainly in North-East India through South East Asia. It is the commonest of the 3 species of leafbirds in Singapore. It can be found in Bukit Timah, Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Southern Ridges extending to Mount Faber and even Sentosa Island.

The male differs from the female in appearance (see pictures below). They are normally found in pairs and sometimes in a small flock. Normally, they are hard to spot unless on the move while feeding or flying to a new destination due to their green colouration.

One of the benefit of Jelutong Tower in spotting of leafbirds is that it has a good view of the surrounding forest, so the movement of leafbirds are easy to monitor. The other reason is that the leafbirds like the plants around the tower, particularly the Poikilospermum climber. It has also been seen feeding on insects.

(Front view of the male. A black face and bib, bordered by yellowish head. Notice how close in colour it is to the leaf)

(Side view of the male, showing the blue colours of the wings and tail feathers. Some field guides do not show the full extent of the blue feathers)

(The female in comparison lacks the black face and bib)

(Another female, this time with worn feathers)

(A male, capturing a large green insect)

(In flight, wings folded)

A Changeable Hawk-Eagle meal

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On a lunchtime break in December 2012, I decided to make a quick round to the former Bidadari Muslim cemetary, a prime birding area in Singapore. Unexpectedly, I was the lone person there. And for good reason. That day, the birds must have decided to take a break. Or perhaps they sense something else…

As I went along a more wooded area, and ready to leave the place, I saw movement of a large bird. Scanning the area and slowly pacing my steps, I chanced upon a raptor perched on a low branch and close by. Turned out to be a white-morph Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus). Now normally if the raptor sees a person nearby it will just take-off. But it stayed, so I slowly moved my camera and lens towards my eyes. Once focused on my viewfinder, I could see that it had something on it’s leg.

It scanned around, looking warily, but never made direct eye contact. I was sure it was aware of my presence and just awaiting for the moment to get away. I rattled a few shots quickly, and the noise from the shutter of my camera made it even more nervous. I decided to continue photographing nonetheless. One does not always get a chance to photograph a raptor with a prey. Once I was satisfied with the shots from the position, I wanted a different background, so I took a step…

It then decided the that I have crossed the line and flew off for good, prey in tow. And that was the end of the encounter. No feeding shot after all.

So what was it that it was holding on to? A rat, crushed in the head by it’s powerful leg. A raptor in the city making a meal of an urbanized mammal, in a former cemetery that will soon be a fancy housing estate.

Grey-rumped Treeswift nesting record at Mandai

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The Grey-rumped Treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis) is one of the two species of treeswift recorded in Singapore. The other, the Whiskered Treeswift is a very rare resident that is seldom seen, with only one recent record at Upper Peirce Reservoir in 2011.

The Grey-rumped Treeswift on the other hand is a more common resident in Singapore. They can be found regularly at the Singapore Botanical Gardens, Macritchie Reservoir and recently at Bishan Park. In April/May 2011, there was a nesting record in Mandai which I had a chance to document.

Both the male and the female take turns to incubate the egg. The nest of the egg is rather small and can only fit in one adult and one egg.

The male of the species has orange red/chestnut coloured ear coverts that this female lack. Both have an attractive crest.

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A walk to Jelutong Tower and Macritchie Reservoir

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Early this morning, I made a walk to Jelutong Tower to meet up with a friend who came back for a short visit.

On the way to the tower, there were calls of the Brown Hawk-Owl, Short-tailed Babblers, Asian Fairy-bluebird and the Chestnut-winged Babbler. At the tower itself, there were the usual Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers, Van Hasselt’s Sunbird and the Crimson Sunbird. But the first bird that caught my photographic interest was the Banded Woodpecker (Picus miniaceus) that was calling away loudly.

(Banded Woodpecker)

Just after it flew off, a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus) flew past the tower landing nearby.

(Chestnut-bellied Malkoha with an obvious chestnut-coloured belly!)

My last bird at the tower was the Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris). It was perched momentarily at an interesting branch and was calling loudly.

(Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo with the distinctive white nape patch)

Soon it flew off, but in the process it was mobbed by bulbuls. The pattern was repeated at the next perch and the following one after that. The bulbuls really did not like the presence of the cuckoo. For good reason too. The Yellow-vented Bulbuls¹ and the Olive-winged Bulbuls² are known brood host of the Drongo-Cuckoo. To protect their own nesting, they mob the cuckoo whenever they are seen.

(Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo calling loudly)

After the excitement of the tower, I had a brief walk at the boardwalk. No interesting birds to report, so instead I photographed another Banded species. This time, a Banded Imperial (Eooxylides tharis distanti) butterfly.

(Banded Imperial)

Reference
1. Photo by Alan Ng
2. Avifauna Volume 24 pg 17