An albino Collared Kingfisher

An earlier posting about albino birds and the pair of juvenile albino Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) seen at the Visitors Centre of the Singapore Botanic Gardens around May-June 2006 got the attention of Serene Tang who e-mailed me saying that her friend actually had an image of the bird. Peter Cheong then generously sent in his image that it is now incorporated into the original blog posting.

And now, James Heng has written in with his encounter in Johor, Malaysia:
“Thanks for the good read on albino birds. About two years ago, I was at Parit Jawa and saw this solitary albino Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). The other few Collared Kingfishers would perch together and interact but whenever this albino flew over, the rest would quickly fly away.“It must have been very lonely. Wonder if it is still alive today?”

Thank you James, for this exciting note and the images. Image of the normal Collared Kingfisher is by Chan Yoke Meng.

Albino birds

Albino birds are rare but they do exist. This condition is the result of genetic mutation, whereby the pigment melanin is absent. And the absence of melanin means that the feathers are always white. In cases where some of the feathers are colored by a pigment other than melanin, areas of yellow or red are apparent.

Where all the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers, we have a totally albino bird. In this case the eyes, legs and bill will have a pinkish tinge as the colour of the blood shows through in the absence of the pigment in the tissues. But most albino birds we encounter are partial albino, where only some of the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers.

A totally albino bird is extremely rare in the wild. The conspicuousness of the all-white plumage and the weak eyesight make it an easy victims to predators. Also, the lack of pigments makes the feathers brittle. And such feathers often wear out before the next moult and the bird may not be able to fly well

An albino bird may have problems of being recognised by its prospective mate and thus will not be able to mate. Or it may not be recognised by others of its own kind and thus chased off from the group. There is a report of a pure albino female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) that was chased away repeatedly from the flock by its companions. It always returned to the flock to be chased again.Around May-June 2006 a pair of juvenile albino Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) was spotted around the Visitor Centre of the Singapore Botanic Gardens together with their parents. What happened to them subsequently is anybody's guess.

Top image courtesy of Ashley Ng. Bottom image by Peter Cheong, obtained after Serene Tang read the blog and informed us about Peter's encounter with the birds in the SGB. Thank you Serene and Peter.

Little Terns: Courtship behaviour

The breeding season of Little Terns (Sterna albifrons) in Singapore starts from May to end in July. The first step involves pairing, after which courtship begins. Typical courtship behaviour involves the male bird bringing fish to his mate. How the birds forage for fish has been posted earlier.
Not all offer of fish by the male is accepted by the female of his choice. The female may turn her back as the male approaches with his gift but suddenly turn around to accept a gift from another male flying in. At the same time a male flying in with a fish in his beak may not offer it to an eager female but to another of his choice.

The offer of fish continues for some time before the pair actually bonds. After all, the female has to be convinced of the male’s ability to provide for her and her brood during the period of egg incubation and after. The pair may fly off together whereby the male catches the fish. Both then fly back to land where the male offers it to the female. Immediately after handing over the fish to the female, the male cocks his head high and make a loud cry, as if in triumph.

During this period of courtship feeding there are always other birds ready to zoom in for a free meal. Piracy is rampant during this period and a courting male has to be extra vigilant least his gift ends in the beak of another male.

Observations were made by Meng and Melinda Chan in 2005. All images by them.

Malaysian Plover 2: Nesting

Philip Tang has been stalking the elusive Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii) for the second year now. His mission is to record the nesting behaviour of this beautiful tiny bird. Originally designated locally as a rare resident, the bird is now considered by our bird specialist R. Subaraj, as an uncommon resident, but vulnerable, because of the transient nature of its habitat. That it is not so rare has been confirmed by Philip who managed to locate a breeding pair during each of his two years of study.
[The image above shows the male bird in the nest incubating the two eggs while that below shows the bird with the two eggs in the nest]
According to Philip: “The Malaysian Plover is found on sandy beaches, usually in remote areas with little human activity. They feed close to the water's edge, usually in pairs. The nest is just a simple depression on the ground, which is usually further up from the beach area. The two nests from both 2005 & 2006 were found in the oddest area, by the dirt road. The nest is usually very well hidden, away from views of predators. By using a vehicle as a hide and with lots of patience, I was able to spot (with lots of luck) the pair roosting and feeding near their nest. Spotting a nest with eggs or chicks among the grass and sand can really put a strain on your eyes. [Above image shows the female bird with the first-hatched chick and the unhatched egg; the two below, without the parent bird]“These birds nest on sandy grounds very close to vehicle tracks within the area. There are lots of wild dogs and raptors around. Human activities are plentiful with the ramp up of construction there. For my first sighting, I once almost stepped onto a nest with two eggs, so perfect was the camouflage. From then on, I walked with utmost care. Similarly, eggs and newborn chicks blend in very well with the surroundings. [Above, nest with two eggs, note that the the chick is pecking out from the egg on the right. Below, male bird with chick under her wing]“It takes me quite a while to be able to spot them each time I return to the area.

“The parents (especially the female) will always move around the nesting area, bringing the chick(s) along, by calling out for them. When the parents sense any danger/threat, they will show the broken wing routine to distract the predator away, and the chick will receive a signal to lie low and stay very still without moving, until the parents call out for them when there is no more danger. I have spent many times looking for them once I lost focus when they moved into the grass area.

“One of the parents will also fly around and away from the nesting/chick so as to lure the predator away as far as possible.”

Input and images by Philip Tang. Part 1 on the birds can be viewed here.

Pecking order at the tree stump

"Deep in a fruit orchard at the foothill of Bukit Mertajam, next to Berapit village and opposite the Mengkuang Dam, stands a 4-storey tall tree-stump of great prominence to a variety of bird species. I counted a minimum of 20 cavities bored by birds along the length of the trunk. What caught my attention was the pecking order in which these bird species behaved and practiced the art of warfare.

"Several Common Mynas (Acridotheres trisitis) and Crested Mynas (Acridotheres cristatellus) appear to be custodians of the tree stump, perching and performing random inspections of these cavities with ease and helping themselves to grubs.

"A seemingly pair of resident Black-thighed Falconets (Microbierax fringillarius), at times with juvenile takes up position at the top, hollow edge of the stump – I suspect it to be their old nest. They are never far away and often would circle around the orchard area. When all is ‘clear’ they would return to perch discreetly a little distant away from the mynas.
"The Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) is usually seen perched quietly and solitary on dead tree tops and occasionally in pairs during the breeding season in February-June. On this morning of 18 February 2006, they made their presence felt and decided to stake a claim of the stump only to be harassed and chased off by the mynas. Dollarbirds are known to nest in old tree-holes made by woodpeckers or barbets.

"Their loud, hoarse and sharp rasping screeches summoned the third and fourth Dollarbird as they took to their wings with mynas aggressively trailing them. The gang of four Dollarbirds regrouped and boldly perched on the stump as though to drum up a strategy of attack. The noisy aerial assault soon began and this time the mynas were seen to ‘come under attack’.

"Another Malaysian Nature Society birder was with me. We were both surprised to witness this unusual display of aggression by Dollarbirds, known to us as placid birds.

"The aerial assault lasted about 5 minutes. It came to an abrupt halt upon the arrival of the Gold-whiskered barbets (Megalaima chrysopogon) - the ‘condominium’ owners of the stump. The Dollarbirds took to perch on nearby fruit trees, the Black-thighed Falconets were nowhere to be seen and the mynas resumed sentry positions on the stump.

"The ‘big boys’ are back!

"The Gold whiskered-barbet flew in and disappeared into one of the cavities. A couple of minutes later, the head was seen peeping from it. It then flew off only to see another Gold- whiskered barbet appeared with grub in its beak.

"This sighting was documented on 18 February 2006 at 1030 hours under good weather conditions. Location: Berapit foothills Bukit Mertajam Penang Malaysia."

Postscript: The durian tree (Durio zibethinus) stump crashed to the ground as the result of a thunder storm in April 2006 (left).

Submitted by DAISY O’NEILL, Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.

Malaysian Plover: The birds

Philip Tang, an avid nature photographer, spent two years stalking the Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii), also known as Malaysian/Malayan Sandplover. He has successfully documented the birds’ breeding behaviour and is sharing his images and observations that will be posted here during the next few days.

“The Malaysian Plover is a smallish coastal bird that is found exclusively on sandy beaches and coastal sand-fill in Singapore. Although designated a rare resident locally, it is not globally threatened but near-threatened. The population worldwide has been estimated to be less than 10,000 birds, this number probably declining with the years. “Plovers are small wading birds that are widely distributed throughout the world. They belong to the Family Charadriidae that comprises three Subfamilies: Charadriinae or plovers (41 spp.), Vanellinae or lapwings (25 spp.) and Pluvianellinae or Magellanic Plover (1 sp.).

"These birds are characterised by their relatively short bill. They feed in pairs on remote sandy beaches, hunting by sight rather than by feel as longer-billed waders like snipe do. They feed on worms, especially polychaetes and other invertebrates like small crustaceans, shrimps, amphipods and isopods. They have a typical run-and-pause technique of hunting, rather than the steady probing of some other wader groups. The birds wait for prey to reveal itself, then run towards it. They then wait quietly for another opportunity. If no more prey is detected, they move on to a new site. “The plumage of brown, grey, black and white provides excellent camouflage for the birds in the uniform sandy shore they congregate. The sexes lack size dimorphism but show plumage differences. The male is easily recognized from the thin black band round its neck while the female has a rufous brown band.

Input and images (top, male; bottom, female) by Philip Tang.

Red-crowned Barbet : Feeding of nestlings

Barbets are hole nesters. They are capable of excavating cavities for their nests from dead and rotting trees. Thus they do not nest in cavities previously used by other birds. These birds are frugivores, feeding mainly on fruits that include figs, oil fruit (Elaeocarpus), Singapore rhododendron (Melastome malabathricum) and mistletoes. They are also opportunistic feeders, able to shift to feeding insects when the opportunity arises. Their young, especially immediately after hatching from the eggs, need a diet of animal protein, necessary for growth and development. But with development these nestlings are fed mainly with fruits.

In a series of observations made recently by Melinda Chan on a nesting pair of Red-crowned Barbets (Megalaima rafflesii), she found that the parents were kept constantly busy bringing food to feed the hungry nestling. Every few minutes a parent would fly to a nearby branch before flying straight to the nest with a variety of fruits and insects. Invariably the nestling would pop its head out, beak agape, to receive the food. Fruits would be brought in twos and threes in the beak of the parent bird.
























Those fruits that were properly identified include the oval and bluish Elaeocarpus and the smaller round and reddish salam (Syzygium polyanthum). Animal food included a praying mantis.

Feeding was frequent, averaging ten per hour. These feeds may be at intervals of a few minutes to as long as ten minutes or more. Fruits were regularly brought, occasional some form of animal food or other.
With such frequent feeding, the nest obviously got dirty fast. Once every few feeds the parent bird would enter the nest to do house cleaning. Sometimes cleaning would only be done after a series of feedings. Conspicuous among the wastes were regurgitated fruits of Elaeocapus with the thin fleshy layer and skin intact, probably indigestible to the nestling. The messy portions of the waste consisted of partially digested fruits as well as excreted matters. Barbets are supposed to remove wastes via faecal sacs but in this case wastes were removed by the beakfuls. With the waste in its beak, the bird flew to a nearby branch, shook its head to release the wastes. These collected on the ground below. After wiping its beak clean against the branch six to eight times, it then flew in the opposite direction to collect more fruits.

Input by Melinda Chan and images by Chan Yoke Meng.

Breeding Distraction: Lapwing and waterhen

"During the breeding season, eggs, chicks and fledlgings are vulnerable to many predators, including man. In many species, parent birds will go to all lengths to protect their brood. The female drongo will pluck off her long racket-like feathers to be less conspicuous when sitting in her nest; cisticolas will land several metres from the nest and run on the ground through thick grass to where the nest is located; many normally mild-mannered species will viciously chase away much larger would-be predators with great gusto.

"Some birds, like certain shorebirds will pretend to have a broken wing to distract the predator from the retreating chick. A couple of years ago, I observed a Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) run towards our vehicle, screaming loudly and feigning a broken wing as her young chick retreated quietly into the long grass adjacent to the dirt track that we were driving along. "On May 5th this year, I had the pleasure of witnessing two more such displays. First, at Serangoon, as Anthony Mercer, Shamla Subaraj and I were in our car driving slowly down a rough road, we stopped to observe a couple of White-breasted Waterhens (Amaurornis phoenicurus) (above and below) ahead of us. Immediately, one waterhen started running towards the car with wings held outstretched and above its head. While appearing in mock surrender, it also appeared to be charging our vehicle. It moved to the right of our vehicle and the reason for its display became apparent. We had inadvertently stopped right next to her small black chick, which was at the edge of a grass tussock. The adult carried a caterpillar and fed the chick upon reaching it, while shepherding it further into the vegetation. Later, we were to see a total of four small black chicks at the spot.
"Later that day, as the three of us drove around the reclamation area at Changi Central, we came across a strangely bold male Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii). This vulnerable resident is a sandy shore specialist and is highly localised in its local distribution. The male stood right in front of our car and seemed quite unafraid, providing excellent views. It literally tried to block us from turning our car into another track! Yet, this is a species that is normally fairly shy and would run quickly away from observers who moved too close. It did not dawn on me that it was trying to distract us, by making us focus on him, until the female materialised on the left of the vehicle. It too appeared quite unafraid and my conclusion was that they must have a nest nearby, though we did not look for it as we did not want to further disturb this threatened resident.

"The breeding season is upon us and lots of species are deeply involved in nesting. It would be most interesting to keep an eye out for other protective parents and their interesting methods of distraction."

Account by R. Subaraj and images by YC.

Little Terns: Foraging behaviour

Terns are smallish birds with a prominent forked tail and sharply pointed wings. They are noisy and gregarious and prefer areas around water bodies, whether coastal, rivers or reservoirs.

They feed mainly on fish and crustaceans, foraging over water to get their food. The bird may suddenly dives into the water to catch fish or hovers above to suddenly plunge down. Sometimes it may fly close to the water to swoop down whenever it spots a prey. Certain species may sit or swim on the water surface to pick up food items from the water surface of just below. Many species also indulge in piracy to get their food, especially when male birds bring fish to the female during courtship feeding.

Terns have also been known to hawk insects on the wing, especially when there is a termite hatch.

The Little Terns (Sterna albifrons) that Meng and Melinda Chan observed last year around the Neo Tiew Road area were mostly interested in foraging for fish in the Kranji Reservoir. The birds were mostly flying above the water surface, hovering around an area once they spot fish, to suddenly dive down and make a catch (see images below). With the fish firmly in its beak, the tern would fly off to land to complete its meal.


Input and images by Meng and Melinda Chan.

Oriental Pied Hornbills in Pangkor Island, Peninsular Malaysia

Pangkor Island is a scenic island resort off the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia. And that was where Susan Wong was holidaying recently. What impressed her most was the Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris). There were hornbills everywhere. On rooftops, perching on high-tension wires and along roads. She even saw one bird with a deformed bill. She thought that they were as common as crows that can be seen in many Malaysian towns. We in urban Singapore consider ourselves fortunate to be able to see a pair of these hornbills flying overhead or even visiting our urban gardens. In Pulau Ubin we can see more, but as common as crows? Unbelievable to most of us! I have therefore managed to persuade her to share her images of these impressive birds from Pangkor Island for this post. According to Susan: “The birds have been behaving this way for the last ten years.” They have been attracted to certain touristy areas where hotels and restaurants are plentiful. The residents feed them with leftover food as a tourist attraction. Because of this the birds have become so tame that it is almost possible to touch them. In fact Susan says that they look ”…more tame than the birds at bird parks and zoos.” In fact they have become as tame as the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). Although there is a patch of lowland rainforest nearby, the hornbills were content to be around people.

Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has this to say: “Based on the timings for flock gatherings at Pangkor, given by Susan, I am of the opinion that while this hornbill is unquestionably common on the island, the larger gatherings are because they roost communally. From dawn onwards, they are together drying and warming up before dispersing to find food while in the evenings they probably start gathering until near dusk, when they go to roost together.”

Input and images by Susan Wong of Malaysia.

Rainbow Lorikeet 3: Ilsa’s correspondence with Marion Massam

Alerted by Jeremy Lee about the CITES listing of the Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), Ilsa Sharp wrote:

“Thanks Jeremy - that's an interesting point, about the CITES listing, and I will follow it up for more information. This is an example of how not all invasive or pest birds are necessarily alien species - it is possible for nature to get so out of synch that even indigenous birds become pests, or develop population imbalances etc. It is at this point that human beings have to decide, reluctantly, whether or not to 'manage' or even 'cull' such pest native species.

“The Rainbow Lorikeet is native in northern/eastern Australia (also in Indonesia and New Guinea) but alien in western Australia. However, in both locations, regardless of its native status, it is capable of being a serious pest to fruit orchards and other agribusiness ventures. So whether or not it is on CITES, I guess it could also become a pest, in purely local contexts anyway. Just goes to show how complex the whole alien species thing is. The problem for Singapore's Botanic Gardens, if they are still there, could well be destruction of fruit and flower displays etc, and also these parrots will almost certainly be aggressive to native birds. Perhaps the CITES listing refers more to the lorikeet's status in its native Indonesia/New Guinea? As said, I will check.”

And check, Ilsa did. She wrote to Marion Massam, a pest specialist in the Western Australia Department of Agriculture, about pest birds and suchlike, and told her how she had seen (eastern Australian) Rainbow Lorikeets in the Singapore Botanic Gardens etc.

Marion's advice is that these birds are difficult to eradicate and recommends shooting them as soon as possible. But the problem, according to Ilsa, is they are pretty, “...so any such shooting probably best done out of sight of the public - but is this possible in so public a place as the Gardens, and in so densely populated a place as Singapore?”

Ilsa further wrote: “Yes, Marion, as an occasional birdwatcher over 'the other side' for many years (I lived and worked in Singapore from 1968-1998), I have long been an observer of the autumn (northern hemisphere autumn) migratory routes from Siberia down through SE Asia to Australia, and out to New Zealand - the north-coast Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve has always been a good observation post for this phenomenon in Singapore.

“But the 'hitchhiker' traffic is two-way - at least a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets are established now at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and I have seen another small flock elsewhere in Singapore too, just for example, not to mention Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on the southern-coast offshore island of Sentosa in Singapore!"

Marion's reply: "Thanks Ilsa - we actually get hitchhiker birds directly from Asia on a very regular basis, so raising awareness of this in that part of the world can only be a good thing."

The two earlier postings on this bird are at 1 and 2.

Thanks are due to Ilsa Sharp, Jeremy Lee and Marion Massam for their contributions. Image of Rainbow Lorikeets at the Eng Neo area by YC.

Oriental Pied Hornbills and Dollarbirds

Most birders would have given up on the Eng Neo area by May 2006 as the pair of Great (Buceros bicronis) and Rhinoceros Hornbills (B. rhinoceros) has been visiting rather infrequently. But Meng and Melinda Chan were persistent. They returned to the area again on 20th May and were rewarded with an exciting encounter.

The location was not the rotting tree trunk. Part of this trunk had collapsed earlier, possibly trapping the nest of the Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis) as that portion of the trunk was firmly buried in the ground. The Dollarbirds apparently moved to another cavity found in the nearby living albizia tree (Paraserianthes falcataria).

This cavity was a few months ago occupied by a pair of Hill Mynas (Gracula religiosa). Subsequently Tanimbar Corellas (Cacatua goffini) were seen around the cavity. Now the Dollarbirds had taken over the cavity and nested there.

On that morning when Meng and Melinda were there, three Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) visited the tree. These hornbills were seldom seen around the albizia trees, preferring the many wayside trees that dot the sprawling apartment blocks nearby. The Dollarbirds were around and put up a spirited defense, bravely attacking and chasing off the larger birds.
As an added bonus, they witnessed the return of the Great and Rhinoceros Hornbills to the neighbouring tree. Both birds followed the same old routine, checking on the cavity. But there was no feeding of the Rhinoceros by the Great.

Input and images by Meng and Melinda Chan.

Nesting of the Oriental White-eye

This is the first nesting report of the Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus) after 1970 for Singapore. Yen Lau and K.C. Tsang first spotted a pair of the birds checking Yen’s 3 m high potted Australian bottlebrush (Callistemon rigidis) trees in her garden on 18th May 2006. Three days later they noticed a neatly weaved, cup-shaped nest that was 5 cm across. The nest, about 2 m from the ground, was constructed mostly of plant materials using cobwebs to attach it firmly to the branches.
Five days later the parent birds were in the nest most of the time. On 7th June three reddish chicks were seen crowding the nest. The adults took turns bringing food for the ever-hungry chicks every 15 minutes or so. The moment the chicks felt an adult landing on a nearby branch, they would eagerly raise their heads high with gaping beaks and made barely audible sounds. They were ever ready to receive whatever food brought to them. Between feedings, one or the other of the adult bird would sit in the nest to comfort the chicks. By 11th June the chicks had a sparse cover of black and yellow feathers. Of the three, one was larger and more boisterous than the rest. The nest was over-crowded and the youngest chick apparently fell off the nest three days later and died. Even with the remaining two chicks the nest was too small, but by then the older fledged. The adults were nearby encouraging it. By the same afternoon the second chick also fledged. Although neither Yen nor KC noticed the adults removing any faecal sacs, they must have as the nest was always tidy and the surrounding was free of excrements. Our consultant ornithologist, Wang Luan Keng, confirmed that this is the first report for modern Singapore (i.e. after 1970). There have been old records of nestings in Sime Road (1950), Pulau Tekong (very young birds,1920s) and Malaysia. Luan Keng thinks that there might be newer records too but she is not aware of. This bird disappeared from Singapore during the 1970s and there were only records of escapees. Since Gibson-Hill's 1950 record from Sime Road, there have been no confirmed records for Singapore until now.

Luan Keng added: “It's a good record. Looks like we need to re-evaluate the status of this species. Currently it is recorded as "extinct, former resident, common escapee".

Lim Junying wrote on 30th June, after KC’s report was circulated: “Indeed, they are very versatile when it comes to nesting spots. I once had a nest in a Chinese Juniper tree. Chicks didn't really show much activity whenever I came over to observe them, just a little movement.” It is a pity that Junying did not record his observations then.

This shows the importance of publishing your findings, however trivial you may think. After all, we are usually not aware of what is new and important until we let the ornithologists and experienced birders know about it. So keep your observations and findings coming and we at BESGroup will do your reporting and recording for you - within days if not a week or so, not months or years!

We thank Yen Lau and KC Tsang for the above report and images; Wang Luan Keng for technical information; and Lim Junying for additional information.

I and the Bird #27

The latest I and the Bird #27 is about birding and blogging. Do visit the site and read why people (1) watch birds, (2) blog, (3) blog about birds, and (4) watch birds and blog about them. Find out also why Bird Ecology Study Group started blogging...

Forensic birding 5: Red-crowned Barbets’ wastes

One evening I found a package in my mailbox, left there by Meng and Melinda Chan. The pair was returning home from photographing a pair of nesting Red-crowned Barbet (Megalaima rafflesii) and left me the messy collection of partially digested fruits. Apparently Melinda collected them from the road nearby after the parent birds cleaned out their nest and dumped the trash some distance away.

The collection of fruits was fascinating. A few of the fruits had their bluish outer skin intact. Others were without the skin, the pulp greenish. There were a few other fruits/seeds as well, all covered with a dark, sticky and messy substance, probably originating from the rear end of the nestlings.

The bluish fruits still had a distinctive aromatic smell, reminiscence of some fruits or other that I cannot recollect. My first thought was Elaeocarpus or oil-fruit trees. These small to fairly large trees are common in our secondary forests. Their fruits ripen blue-green or blue-grey. The greenish pulp also pointed to this plant.

I checked with Ali Ibrahim who gave me some leads. Lauraceae or Elaeocarpaceae he suggested. The first includes wild cinnamon (Cinnamomum iners) while the second the oil-fruit trees, Elaeocarpus spp. The aromatic smell of the fruits suggested that it could not be the first. Cleaning the fruits and cutting it into two showed a very hard stone enclosing two seeds, each with its own cavity. Bingo! Elaeocarpus it is.
So these barbets eat Elaeocarpus fruits. They were brought to the nest and fed to the nestlings in twos and threes. Apparently the nestlings could not handle these fruits and most were probably regurgitated and deposited in the nest cavity. The parent birds had a hard time cleaning out the nest, literally carrying out these partially digested fruits in their beaks and dumping them onto the road nearby.

It has been reported that the nestlings of barbets dispose of their wastes through faecal sacs. Apparently these fruits/seeds were too large to be contained in such sacs, making it necessary for the parent birds to “shovel” them with their beaks.

Thank you Meng and Melinda Chan for collecting the fruits and for the image of the Barbet, and to Ali Ibrahim for help in the ID. Image of fruits by YC.

Malkoha in the sun

Wu Weizen was walking in the MacRitchie Reservoir forest one afternoon in May 2006 when he suddenly came across a Chestnut-bellied Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus) sprawled in the middle of the path. It had its wings stretched and tail feathers well fanned, showing off the brilliance of the feather colours.

“As I approached, it folded its wings somewhat, moved a little to the side (as in the photo), then unfolded its wings again. I watched for a while, and wondered if it was injured. But it flew into the nearby trees as I passed.” The bird was apparently sunning itself in the middle of the forest path. As Weizen added, “It didn't rain that morning, so what did it do to get itself so wet that it needed to dry off? Took a dip in the reservoir?”

The way the bird was stretching itself reminded Jeremy Lee of anting: “Did you see any ants around the spot? It could be anting. Or maybe just using some of the sun's heat to get rid of the ticks or mites it has.”

The bird could be sunning itself. Or it could be anting, as suggested by Jeremy. After all, this is a typical posture if it is lying on an ants’ nest to allow the ants to swarm all over it in an effort to rid its feathers of ectoparasites. Obviously if I am to suddenly come across a stunning bird like the makolha stretched out in the middle of the forest path, I would not have thought of anting. Nor would I have examined the site after the bird flew off to look for signs of ants.

If it were really anting, the above image would be a rare shot.

This report by Weizen should make birders aware of the possibility of such an activity. And the next time should anyone come across a bird in this posture, he or she should spend some time quietly observing it. If it is anting, it may subsequently do a little dance and maybe peck off the ants from its feathers. And do not forget to examine the site for the presencer of ants.

Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has this to say: "Sunning or anting....both perfectly feasible. More interesting is that this normally arboreal species does descend to the ground from time to time."


Thank you Wu Weizen for this unusual observation and the rare image.

Rainbow Lorikeet 2: In Western Australia

Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) is a small, brightly coloured parrot that is very noisy, continuously screeching while in flight. In Australia it favours open forest and woodland habitats, although it adapts well to urban areas including parks and gardens.

In Perth, the subspecies (T. h. moluccanus) was thought to originate from less than ten captive birds. It soon became free flying, numbering about 54 in the mid 1980s. By 2002 the population has exploded to at least 10,000.

The birds feed on seeds, fruits, nectar, pollen and flower parts from more than 20 plant species in Perth. These include lemon-scented gums (Eucalyptus citriodora), spotted gums (E. maculata), cotton palms (Washingtonia filifera), date palms (Phoenix canariensis), coral trees (Erythrina indica) and figs (Ficus spp). They have also been observed feeding from native jarrah (E. marginata), marri (Corymbia calophylla), and sheoak (Allocasuarina spp). Lorikeets also feed on lerps (scale insects covered in a sweet exudates) and mulberries, and recently they have been noted feeding on grapes, figs, loquats and nectarines in Perth suburbs.

It has become a pest of fruit crops like grapes, apple, stone fruits, citrus and tropical fruits in Queensland, NT, NSW and northern Victoria.

The above is from the fact sheet issued by the Western Australia’s Department of Agriculture. It has been brought to out attention by Ilsa Sharp. The image of the Rainbow Lorikeet in an Eucalyptus tree in Tasmania is by YC.