Monthly Archives: August 2014

White-rumped Shama in Singapore

The White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) is a songbird that is native to South Asia and South-east Asia. It has a rich and highly melodious voice which unfortunately made it one of the most popular cagebirds in its native territory. Due to this fact, it has been poached to near local extinction in the mainland of Singapore. However it is still found in good numbers in the offshore island of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.

The male and the female bird differ in appearance, with the male being more striking with its very long tail, glossy blue-black on the head, breast and upperparts. The underparts is deep rufous-orange. In comparison, the female has a dark grey (not glossy) parts at the same location and the underparts a duller rufous colour.

Because they have a very melodious voice, locating them by the song they make is much easier than sighting them, as they tend to be rather shy and skulking in behaviour. If they are not singing, they oftentimes call with a harsh ‘tschak’ while foraging or alarmed that is also indicative of their presence.

The best place to find them in Singapore is currently Pulau Ubin where a morning walk from the jetty to Chek Jawa will invariable reveal 3-4 of them if one knows what to look out for. In the mainland, it is much harder to find them. They are still present and breeding, and have been found in various locality like Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Due to the ongoing poaching activities, exact locality cannot be provided.

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Coconut Lorikeet in Singapore

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The Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) or Green-naped Lorikeet is a bird native to southern Maluku, West Papua islands and western New Guinea. For a long time, they have been considered a subpecies of Rainbow Lorikeet. In fact, some authorities still consider them a subspecies of Rainbow Lorikeet. However quite recently, both IOC and Birdlife International decided to accord them full species status. This means that the proper Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus moluccanus) are now confined to Australia.

In Singapore, the Rainbow Lorikeet we have in our current checklist is actually the Coconut Lorikeet. They are an introduced species that has been reported to be widespread since 1980s. They can be found at many localities and believed to be locally breeding. Recent sightings include the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Choa Chu Kang, Buona Vista, Sunset Way, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bishan Park and the former Bidadari Cemetary.

These lorikeets are gregarious birds that tend to congregate together especially in the late evenings. They roost in hollows of tall trees, which they presumably also use as nesting sites. Like other parrots and parakeets in Singapore, they have been observed feeding on the seeds of the African Tulip tree and ripe rambutan fruits.

Below are some pictures and a video clip of the Coconut Lorikeets, with captions of their locality and behaviour. Also in the gallery is the picture of a Rainbow Lorikeet for comparison.
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Giant Honey Bees at Pasir Ris Park

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When we normally talk about enjoying the great outdoors in Singapore, the general public assessment of risk typically include fear of snake bites, or ferocious wild boars running loose. Some will fear wild dogs, and others will fear spiders, scorpions and other creepy crawlies. While some of these are undoubtedly dangerous if handled incorrectly, thankfully for the past few years, there have been no fatalities involving any of these animals.

There is however one exception. Giant Honey Bees have been responsible for the unfortunate death of a Singaporean pest control officer^{1 (link)} in November 2013.

The Giant Honey Bees (Apis dorsata) is a honey bee common in South Asia and South-East Asia. These bees migrate seasonally. They nest in the open on tree branches or trunks and even on balcony of buildings^{2 (link)}. There is much to fear about them. Unlike their more docile cousins the European or Asiatic Honey Bee, they are rather ferocious especially near their nest or provoked, and will collectively swarm their target causing multiple potentially fatal stings^{3 (link)}. Killing of a single bee will cause pheromones to be released signalling further aggression. In other words, when you spot them, getting away will be the wisest decision.

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Cream-vented Bulbul nesting

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The Cream-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus simplex) is a species of bulbul that has striking white-eyes that are unmistakable. It is found in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and the Greater Sundas. In Singapore it is a uncommon resident in the forest.

Although breeding has been reported in Singapore before, there isn’t much documentation of the nesting of this species locally or anywhere else.

In June 2011, I had the opportunity to witness the nesting of a pair at the road leading to Upper Peirce Reservoir.

The first encounter on the afternoon of 12th June. I was observing a bulbul perched on a thin branch when it suddenly flew to a Dicranopteris fern (Resam in Malay) patch just a meter off the ground. Although it was partially blocked, I could see that it was sitting on a nest. I observed the bulbul for about 30 minutes when it decided to leave. I took the opportunity to get closer to the nest to get a quick camera phone photo of the eggs. There were two eggs that looked very much like the Yellow-vented Bulbul eggs. About 15 minutes later, the bulbul or its partner returned to incubate the eggs.

On 14th June, I went back to have another look, and I could see that the same routine of perching on a branch and then flying into the fern bush. Approximately half and hour later, a change of shift occurred as the nest was left empty momentarily until presumably another parent took over. See video below.

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Watercock at Singapore Botanic Gardens

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Most people with any interest in Singapore birds would know about the ubiquitous White-breasted Waterhen. The waterhen, also known in Malay as Burung Ruak-ruak, is a rather bold bird that thrives in most of our non-forested nature areas.

It stand to reason that if there is such a bird called waterhen, then there must be a species of bird called watercock too. And in reality there is! The Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea) is a waterbird that is a distant relative of the waterhen. It is a widely found species throughout Asia. Unfortunately in Singapore, it is listed as an uncommon winter visitor presently. In the past, it was a very common bird but drainage of many areas, and development of suitable habitat made for much reduced numbers.

The male in breeding plumage is a striking black bird with yellow bill, red frontal shield and legs. The female and the juvenile looks a lot duller with dark brown upperside and buff below with wavy greyish brown bars.

Behaviourally, they are more secretive, and they like to stay around freshwater and brackish wetlands. In normal circumstances they are more likely to be flushed out from the tall grasses or bushes where they normally resides

In February 2012, a non-breeding plumaged Watercock was spotted around the edges of Eco-Lake at Singapore Botanic Gardens. It was an opportunity for many to get a closer look of this normally secretive waterbird. From our observation, it was usually seen around the bushes at the edge of the lake. Occasionally it will come out in the open to forage, like the waterhens. Perhaps this specimen was habituated by the constant human traffic, so it did not seem as shy. Nonetheless, it quickly went back to the bushes once its foray outside attracted any attention.

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