Category Archives: Birds

The Terek Sandpiper in Singapore

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August and September marks the start of search for migrant birds in Singapore for most birders. And shorebirds are the first to arrive. During this time, similar looking shorebirds start appearing mainly at our mudflats and our limited shoreline. It is a confusing time for the new birders, as sorting out the various species is not helped by the fact that their plumage and size does not differ much. So here is a short introduction of one of the easier species to pick out, the Terek Sandpiper.

The Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) is a smaller sized wader that migrates from their breeding ground that stretches from Finland all the way to Siberia. They make a journey of anywhere between 3500km – 4800km to their wintering grounds in Africa, India, the Malaysian Peninsula and Australia. The female starts their journey first in early July and the males and females follow in August. They reach Singapore as early as late July although more commonly seen by September.

The bird itself is rather distinctive. It has short orange legs and a prominent long upcurved bill that is orange at the base. As the scientific specific name implies (cinereus means grey), this wader has a grey back, face and breast in all plumages. Behaviourally, it is a busy looking bird that walks briskly pecking at the surface or probing in shallow water, on soft wet intertidal mudflats and even sandy beaches.

Where can one find the wader and do they appear in large numbers? Normally the Terek Sandpiper will appear at Sungei Buloh, Mandai Mudflats, Seletar Dam. They also appear along Changi Coast, but that location is currently off limits. As they are listed as an uncommon winter visitor, one does not expect a large flock, but perhaps a few birds here and there in any one locality.

This year, one Terek Sandpiper was already reported at Sungei Buloh on 31 August. There will be more to come, as is usually the case.

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The New Zealand Falcons in Rotorua

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Not every trip I make overseas is to the wild. Sometimes, it is more convenient to experience a taste of wilderness when traveling with family members in a more convenient location. When I was in Roturua, New Zealand, I was recommended a nearby place called “The Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre“. It is a facility that undertake captive breeding and rehabilitation of the threatened New Zealand Falcons. Visitors can visit and see birds of prey up close during interactive flying displays, so we timed our visit for just such an occasion.

The New Zealand Falcon or kārearea (Falco novaeseelandiae) is New Zealand’s only endemic falcon and the only remaining bird of prey endemic to New Zealand. It is a versatile hunter that has the ability to hunt in both forested and open habitats. Nonetheless, it is a threatened species. Like most native New Zealand bird species, it evolved during a time when the land was free of mammals and human. Consequently it nests on the ground, which now means that they are susceptible to modern introduced predators. This, combined with widespread habitat loss, modification and degradation means that falcons have fewer places to successfully nest.

During the flying displays, both a male and a female were set free to fly about and rewarded with morsels of meat once they successfully perform certain difficult aerial maneuvers. This training permits them to regain natural strength so that they can be successfully re-introduced to the wild one day. The males and the females differ in size and looks, with the males only two-third the weight of the females. Although I was not observant enough to differentiate, apparently the size difference meant their hunting strategies differ, so the training for them differ too.

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The Galahs of Queensland, Australia

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The Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo is a commonly found Australian cockatoo that has a rose-pink head, neck and underparts, with paler pink crown, and grey back, wings and undertail.

Like most cockatoos it is a rather loud and sociable bird. In fact in Australia, galah is a derogatory term that means a loud-mouthed idiot or fool. Like most cockatoos too, it roost in tree cavities and gather as a group in the evenings and early mornings. The sexes can be differentiated easily by their irises colour. The males has dark brown irises, while the female have pink irises.

I managed to find a group of them while on vacation in Queensland in September 2012, and took some pictures and made some observations.

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The search for Asian Openbills in Singapore

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The Asian Openbill is distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and South-east Asia. There are a number of large breeding colonies in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. In the Malay Peninsula, they have only been reported sporadically until recent times.

In early January 2013, a large flock of openbills were found at Kuala Gula in Perak. Subsequently, another flock was reported the next day at the paddy fields of Batang Tiga, Malacca. The southern movement of these large flocks of openbills was an exciting event for birders in Malaysia and Singapore. I personally made a journey to Batang Tiga in mid-January 2013 and found these birds in good numbers.

When these birds journeyed further southwards and started appearing in nearby Johore state, many in the birding community in Singapore started wondering aloud about the possibility of a few stray birds entering Singapore itself. Speculations abound as to the possible landing sites. So it was not unexpected that finally in 22 January 2013, a few were seen in the vicinity of Punggol Barat.

I co-authored a paper that has been published in NUS about the status of the Asian Openbills in Singapore with additional notes on foraging and dispersive movements. It can be found here.

I will like to present my account below of the search for them, written on 24 January 2013, the next day after my own discovery.

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Himalayan Monal in Bhutan

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The Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is a member of the pheasant family that as the name suggest inhabit the Himalayan region. It is the national bird of Nepal.

The adult male is a strikingly coloured bird with iridescent rainbow-like plumage. It has a wiry, metallic green crest, coppery feathers on the back and neck, chestnut-brown tail, and a white rump that is visible in flight. The female and the juveniles are much less showy.

The bird is found throughout Bhutan, preferring cool upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows between 2400 and 4500 metres in altitude. I had the good fortune of seeing a random male at Chelela Pass on the second day of birding, although it was very shy and moved away quickly. My guide assured me that we will get another opportunity to see the male birds again in central Bhutan.

So a few days went past and we were in the Bumthang district when the guide suggested that we go climb up to a monastery high up in the hills. Apparently the monks in that monastery like to feed the wild monals with leftover food. Therefore the birds make semi-regular visits. On reaching the monastery, we did not see the monals. We were informed that as the monastery was undergoing renovations, foreign workers were called in and there were suspicions that some were poaching the monals for their crest feathers.

Heavy rain came and we retreated to inside the monastery and the monks gave us cups of their traditional butter tea. These were made from tea leaves, yak butter, water, and salt. The rain subsided gradually and as we peeped outside, a flock of monals were coming down from the higher slopes! One of the monks gathered some cooked rice and spread them on a walking path, and the monals coolly marched down to get their meal. It was a group consisting of one adult male in resplendent plumage and a few dull individuals that were assumed to be the female and juveniles.

Our main attention of course turned to the male and occasionally the duller females. Unfortunately, my lens was too long and they approached too near at times. Backing out was sometimes not an option as the wet slippery slope of the hill made for bad standing positions. We managed quite a number of shots. It was a bit unsatisfying frankly as the birds were so used to human presence.

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Is there a Singapore Scops Owl?

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There have always been questions about whether the tiny island of Singapore having any endemic or near-endemic bird species. After all, it sits in a high-biodiversity region. For a very long time, the answer is no.

Nonetheless a few publications, namely Owls of the World (König & Weick, 2008) and Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide (Mikkola, 2012) suggest that there is such a bird named Singapore Scops Owl.

In Singapore, the resident scops owl is the Sunda Scops Owl (Otus lempiji). The subspecies in the southern Malaysia and Singapore is called cnephaeus. What is proposed by these publications is that due to the difference in the vocalizations of the owls in Singapore, they are distinct from the normal Sunda Scops Owl elsewhere in the region. Hence an elevation to a species level and renaming to Singapore Scops Owl (Otus cnephaeus)

Does this claim stand to scientific scrutiny?

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Large-tailed Nightjar In Singapore

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The Large-tailed Nightjar is a widespread species of nightjar found in from eastern India all the way to northern Australia. The genus name Caprimulgus in Latin means “goatsucker”, which is the older name of nightjars due to the past believe that they sucked milk from goats. The subspecies in the Malay Peninsula and Singapore is bimaculatus.

Like most nightjars, it is a nocturnal and crepuscular species. During daytime, it rest inconspicuously in shady areas along the edges of vegetation or leaf litter. Its cryptic plumage helps in concealing its presence. When an intruder gets too near, it will fly off suddenly to a different spot.

As it is a common resident, it can be found almost anywhere, although it has a distinct fondness for cemetery. Hence the Malay name for it is burung tukang kubur (“gravedigger bird”). Although difficult to see in the day unless disturbed, in the night they are easily heard, with very distinct, monotonous and repetitious calls. Something like ‘chonk-chonk-chonk’ or ‘tok-tok-tok’. It is hard to describe in actual fact, so here is a call recorded by Yong Ding Li in Pulau Ubin.

During the breeding season, the nightjar normally lays two eggs on the ground without a proper nest, a few days apart. When incubating the eggs, the nightjar is even more motionless than usual, to protect the eggs. If an intruder gets really too near, they have been reported to fly a short distance away, and land near enough divert the attention of the intruder. It then act as if it was injured to further lure the intruder away. This broken-wing display is a form of distraction display that is widely utilized by birds that lay eggs on unprotected ground like waders, plovers and nightjars.

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Pacific Reef Heron in Singapore

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The Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra) also known as the Pacific Reef Egret is a bird of the heron family that is resident from South-east Asia region to Australia and New Zealand.

It is a peculiar heron species that exhibit non-sexual dimorphism, that is that some birds are entirely white-plumaged (white-morph) and some entirely charcoal grey (dark morph). The grey plumaged birds formed the majority of the population worldwide (but apparently the opposite in Singapore in the past) but they breed freely. There have also been cases of intermediate coloured morph but that is rarer.

These herons are predominantly coastal birds, and can be found near the shore, where they time their feeding according to the tide level. They hunt for fish, crustaceans and molluscs om the shallower part of the water.

In Singapore, they can be found near the seaside, with the largest population at the shores of the various southern islands. However they can be found in other places. These past few years, they have been reported near West Coast Park, Pasir Ris Park, Seletar Dam, Pulau Ubin and even a canal along Telok Kurau.

 

Photo Gallery

Bird collections of Stamford Raffles

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Sir Stamford Raffles is widely regarded as the founder of modern Singapore. A statesman and a soldier, his exploits in Asia is well documented, and a short blog post does no justice to the man. Suffice to say, modern Singapore owes him a great deal. He was involved in drafting the first constitution in 1823, which among other things outlawed gaming and slavery. Importantly, a specific regulation in the constitution called for the multi-ethnic population of Singapore to remain as is, and there shall be no crimes based on race.

Back to topic, when one normally talk of Raffles and nature, many know of Rafflesia, the plant genus which has the largest single flowers that was named after him.

What is less well known, although it should be is the fact that he was also a naturalist. He was one of the earlier avid collector of the various flora and fauna in the South-east Asian region where he was based. Raffles himself described and published in journals quite a number of mammals and birds that were new to science then.

For birds, these are the species first described by Raffles: Crestless Fireback, Milky Stork, Malayan Night Heron, Great-billed Heron, Red-legged Crake, Black-naped Tern, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Raffles’s Malkoha, Chestnut-bellied Malkoha, Barred Eagle-Owl, Brown Hawk-Owl, Red-naped Trogon, Black Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Blue-backed Parrot, Green Broadbill, Black-and-yellow Broadbill, Dusky Broadbill, Giant Pitta, Ashy Minivet, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Crimson Sunbird and the Large Woodshrike. There is a debate over the naming of the last species, but altogether there are 24 bird species listed.

More than just being a collector of wildlife, upon his return to England after his distinguished service in South-East Asia, he went on to establish the London Zoo and the Zoological Society of London. In Singapore, the first museum established in 1849 was named Raffles Library and Museum. Subsequently it was renamed the National Museum of Singapore, and the large zoological collection was transferred to the appropriately named Raffles Museum of Biodiversity and Research. Of course, time marches on, and now that name too is gone, replaced with one that commemorate a rubber, sawmill and pineapple tycoon instead.

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Crimson Sunbird in Singapore

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The Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) is a widespread species of sunbird resident from tropical southern Asia to Indonesia.

The adult male is a brightly coloured bird, with a crimson head, mantle and upper breast, hence its common English name. It is widely believed that it was voted as the unofficial National Bird of Singapore in 2002 due to the description of it as a “tiny red dot”, just as Singapore has been described.1 (link)

There is however another equally important connection to Singapore. The first person to collect, describe and publish on this species in a journal is non other than Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. He did so in 1822 while stationed in Bencoolen (now Bengkulu, Sumatra). The scientific species level name is siparaja, probably derived from the name of the bird in the Malay language, which is Kelicap Sepah Raja. The etymology of this probably is best left to scholars, but ‘sepah’ means scattered in modern usage, and ‘raja’ means king. So perhaps a sunbird scattered by king? Update: Sepah is used currently as the name for minivets in Indonesia, and sepah puteri (‘puteri’ is princess) is used for flowerpeckers in Malaysia.

Currently in Singapore, the sunbird is considered a common resident breeder. The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Bukit Batok Nature Reserve are places where one can find them rather easily. In the past, Mandai Orchid Garden is about the easiest place to see them, but has since been closed down. The pictures below are taken from that locality in 2010.

Sunbirds belong to the taxonomic family Nectariniidae. As the name imply, most of these birds feed on nectar. Their thin downward curving bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues are adaption for nectar feeding. Flowers that cannot be directly accessed are simply pierced at the base near the nectaries for feeding. They also supplement their diet with small insects when feeding young.

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