Author Archives: fryap

Vernal Hanging Parrot at Kaeng Krachan National Park

While in Thailand for a birding holiday in July 2013, I had a chance to photograph some Vernal Hanging Parrots (Loriculus vernalis) at Kaeng Krachan National Park. With a bit of free time left for the day, the guide brought me to a rambutan orchard that was fruiting at the moment.

In between snacking on rambutans, the guide and I surveyed the area for the parrots. He was surprised I could sense their presence. I told him the calls these parrots make are pretty similar to the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots back in Singapore.

Every now and then, a group of 3-5 birds will buzz around and land on some bare branches. This afforded me the opportunity to take some pictures. Then a few will feast on the rambutans before flying off.

The Vernal Hanging Parrots like their cousins the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots are small sized short-tailed, and primarily green-plumaged parrots. This species is found in Burma, southern and southeastern India and southeastern Thailand. Like the other hanging parrots, they have the ability to sleep upside down, from which their name is derived. Their diet is similar to the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots as well.

Below are some of the pictures I took. Unlike the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots, I am not familiar with their various characteristics. In general, they have red to orange bills unlike the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots. The breeding adults have white eyes and the male have light blue throat area. The juveniles are lighter in colour, with darker eyes, duller legs and feet.

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Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot in Singapore

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The Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (Loriculus galgulus) is a small parrot found in South-east Asia from southern Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

It Singapore they are more commonly found in the forest reserves, Singapore Botanical Gardens, and gardens where fruiting trees are present. There have been reports of sightings in the city centre but one is not likely to find them all that often there.

In my early days of birding, this was one of the harder to find species, and it took me quite some time before finally photographing a few of them at Malcolm Park. They were fond of the oil palm fruits and the African Tulip flowers that were abundant there. The problem with finding the birds are two-fold. They are small in size (13cm in length) and they are green, which meant that they are well camouflaged.

There are of course easy ways to find them if you know their behaviour. They are fond of ripe fruits. A fruiting rambutan tree, or oil palm or a myriad others ripe fruits in the garden tend to attract them. So houses with ripening fruit trees near the forest reserves are likely to have them around. The other give-away of their presence is the sound they make while flying. A very shrill and high pitch “tsi” that once you recognise, will indicate their presence nearby.

A very good place to see them flying about is Jelutong Tower at the Central Catchment Nature Reserves. Every morning, there will be little torpedo-like little green birds flying straight and rather low, with their calls emanating loudly. If you are lucky, they will perch on a nearby tree, giving you better views.

Below are some pictures in the gallery with more information on separating the sexes and also a video of a juvenile feeding on a bunch of African Tulip flowers.

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Brown Hawk-Owls at Venus Loop

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The Brown Hawk-Owl (Ninox scutulata) or Brown Boobook is an owl which found in South Asia, South China to South-east Asia. It owes its name to its hawk-like appearance.

It is a commonly heard owl in Singapore, but less commonly seen. It has a distinct repeated and soft ‘ooup-ooup’ call at dusk and dawn that once you remember, will be rather easily heard in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve or Bukit Timah. On one of my recent trek through 1.6 km of Rifle Range Link, I heard at least six of them calling just before dawn.

Before 2014, most of my encounter with the owl species was either knowing where it roosted, or there was a deliberate attempt to call it out at a known location. However this year, I decided to actually learn local bird calls and rely more on my hearing senses to track birds. That would proved very useful later in the year. But that is another story for another time.

So on an evening in late February 2014, I decided to explore Venus Loop after work. As I recall, I was looking specifically for a Von Schrenck’s Bittern that I have seen a few days earlier but did not manage to photograph. But there was no bittern that evening, and I decided to walk out. It was past 7pm and it was getting dark.

Halfway through my exit, I heard a very soft call. I couldn’t exactly make out what it was, so I stood still and waited. Another call, and it confirmed my suspicion. There was a distant Brown Hawk-Owl calling. My response was to take out my phone and look through my bird calls library and play a known bird call back to confirm. I did that and then I raised the volume of the phone so that it rang louder. I was hoping to lure the bird out closer. But it would have none of that. It stopped and then started calling again at the same volume and position.

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A Small Pratincole in Singapore

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In early December 2012, the Big Year competition in which birders participated in finding the most birds in a year, was nearing its end. Birders were frantically finding the last birds for the year. One person in particular was missing a simple bird, the Oriental Pratincole.

The last sighting of the Oriental Pratincole was in mid-November that year at a place called Punggol Barat, a reclaimed piece of land next to an airport. Bare earth, thin patches of grass with a small pond made for an ideal location for the pratincole.

So on that sunny morning, the birder walked around alone to explore the place. With a lot of walking and a big dose of luck, he managed to see a pratincole sitting near a pond through his binoculars. It was a good find. Not wanting to disturb or flush it, he kept his distance and took some pictures instead, and left soon after. Being a fair birder, he decided that he will inform those that did not have the bird yet, so that they too have a fair chance of seeing it later.

Afterwards, away from the unbearably hot sun, he sat down to have a closer look at the photos he took earlier. Immediately it struck him that he was looking at a Small Pratincole (Glareola lactea), a related but much harder to see species in Singapore. In 2012, social media was already used to share bird sightings and so he quickly sent out a mass Whatsapp message.

At the other part of the island, I received the information. Without much thinking, I immediately dropped my work and drove off. I too was involved in the Big Year, and I have certainly not seen this bird before. The last time it came to Singapore in 1989, I was still schooling somewhere in Malaysia. Singapore was still a distant land then.

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Philippine Frogmouth of Mindanao

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The frogmouth a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars. They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape.

The Philippine Frogmouth (Batrachostomus septimusis) is an endemic species found throughout the Philippines. The ones in Mindanao are of the nominate subspecies septimusis.

In May 2014, I had a chance to see this species while on a trip to PICOP, Mindanao. In an inconspicuous part of a dark patch of forest, sat a lone upright figure than was motionless and could pass off as another stick.

The Philippine Frogmouth sitting on at the end of a horizontal branch with 4 side branches projecting out. The mound it sits on is the nest that consist of its own downy feathers which is held in place using spider silk, moss and lichens. An on it presumably sits a single egg.

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Brahminy Kite at Sungei Serangoon

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The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) is a common bird of prey that is widely distributed in the South Asia, South-east Asia and Australia. The subspecies in the Malay Peninsular and Singapore is intermedius.

In Singapore, they are found in all habitat except forest, and especially common in coastal areas. One of the easier area to see them is Sungei Serangoon.

Because of their abundance, most bird photographers have no problem taking close photos of the species and take no further notice of it. Most photos taken, including mine are mainly of the bird in flight seen from below, with nice blue skies if possible.

On a sunny morning in November 2013, I brought my daughter along for a nature stroll at Lorong Halus. As we walked to the bridge across Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon River), we spotted an adult kite flying around the river. Having lugged along my camera and lens, I thought it’ll be a good opportunity to take some shots of it. I mainly wanted to get some unusual angles and background.

A bird flying upwards after a failed fishing attempt. I chose to position myself to see it fly in front the green foliage next to the river. Technically the background is considered busy so the autofocus must be set on a smaller area to avoid misfocus.

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Fire-tufted Barbet at Fraser’s Hill

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The Fire-tufted Barbet (Psilopogon pyrolophus) is a species of barbet found in montane areas in Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Thailand. It is a rather unusual Asian barbet that it has its own genus, and have a proportionally longer tail than the rest. Its name is derived from the prominent red tuft of bristles extending over the base of the bill.

Of course, I knew none of these information when I made my maiden birding trip out of Singapore to Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia back in March 2011. The plan was to go have a family vacation and try to take some bird photos, whatever species they may be.

On the first evening, I explored the area around my hotel. As luck would have it, intermittent rain made me turn back to the hotel. While waiting for it to clear, I saw this green bird perched rather low on an evergreen tree. Without alarming it, I made my way closer. I had a long lens and had to back out to get the bird barely in frame, with the tripod touching the wall of the hotel.

An almost full frame shot of the adult Fire-tufted Barbet, perched low.

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Yellow-fronted Canary in Singapore

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The Yellow-fronted Canary (Serinus mozambicus), or sometimes called the Green Singing Finch is a small bird in the finch family. It is natively found in Africa south of the Sahara.

In Singapore, it has been reported as an escapee species since at least 2005 if not earlier. It is hard to give a exact date and it is rather unimportant if it is a single bird. However in 2009 there were sightings of a pair at Punggol.

In 2010, I sighted my first three birds in a mix flock of other seedeaters in Punggol as well. I have written about my encounter here previously. Since then, more and more reports of the species has surfaced. They were sighted at Punggol, Lorong Halus, Garden by the Bay, Marina East (ex), Chinese & Japanese Garden,Seletar West/Punggol Barat area, and even Changi Airport.

A pair at Punggol grassland showing front and side view seen in early January 2011.

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Savanna Nightjar in Singapore

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The Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) is a species of nightjar found in South and South-east Asia. Its preferred habitat are scrub, open country and particularly grassland with open stony patches.

Unknown to most, it is actually a recent resident species of Singapore. It is believed to have colonised Singapore through the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia, and spread to Singapore and Malaysia subsequently from the 1980s onwards. What is surprising about this fact is that the species is not known to be a strong flier nor is it a migratory one. So perhaps what one can say about birds in strange places is that one should not jump to conclusion about their origin!

The bird is largely nocturnal and hunts for insects at night, usually solitary but sometimes in a small group. They are very vocal in flight, and that one of the way to find them.

(In flight during daytime in Lorong Halus after being flushed, showing the vermiculated upperparts. This is a male, with white outer-tail feathers.)

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Plaintive Cuckoo in Singapore

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The Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus) is an uncommon resident in Singapore. In the past it was called the Malayan Brain Fever Bird. The Malay name is “Burung Anak Mati” which translate to dead child bird. All these names refer to the mournful sounding call that the adult male use to attract the female bird.

Although listed as uncommon, the male can be rather easily found during the breeding season if one recognises its call. And it can be found in many areas in Singapore. It is a brood parasite, with hosts reported including ioras, prinias, cisticolas and tailorbirds.

Below are some of my encounters with the species.

(A male at Tuas Grassland. Contrary to what some guide books mentioned, which is that the Plaintive Cuckoo is separated from the similar looking Rusty-breasted Cuckoo by the lack of yellow eye-ring, here this plaintive does have a yellow eye-ring. The difference is that it’s eye-ring is rather incomplete.)

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