Commensal feeding: Black swan and Eurasian Coots
A Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) was seen feeding by upending its rear to stir up food items at Lake Pertobe. The black swan was attended by a party of three Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) made up of a mother and … Continued
Nature-Singapore: 6. Media support
Ilsa Sharp The Nature Society (Singapore) had full media support in the 1970s and 1980s. We were fortunate to have Ilsa Sharp on our side. She was an active member of the society and we often met up during the … Continued
Warrnambool Grey-Headed Flying Foxes mating
In the post https://besgroup.org/2023/01/15/warrnambool-holiday/ Wong Kais shared a select few images of animals he encountered in Warrnambool. He visited the holiday town in March 2023 to explore other parts of the town and its nature again. At the Botanical Gardens, he … Continued
Eastern Spinebill, Mount Lofty
Wong Kais visited Mount Lofty, Adelaide in 2016. During the pleasant walk he heard the loud and high pitched calls of an Eastern Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris. He trained his camera on the very attractively patterned bird with a down-curved bill, an … Continued
Nature-Singapore: 5. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
View from the summit of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Much of the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch)’s education programme involved conducting nature walks and lectures/seminars on various aspects of nature and its conservation. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was always … Continued
Checker-throated Woodpecker Chrysophlegma mentale Feeding Technique
The Checker-throated Woodpecker (Chrysophlegma mentale) is a less commonly observed forest woodpecker. I have had some limited opportunities to watch the species in the past. On 5th March 2023, at the Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, I had an … Continued
Batik Golden Web Spider (Trichonephila antipodiana) feeding on a large Scarab beetle
A female Batik Golden Web Spider (Trichonephila antipodiana) feeding on a large Scarab beetle spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 8 Jan 2023. Quite a large meal for a large spider. On iNaturalist [ https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146107966 ] Below is a … Continued
Nature-Singapore: 4. Guided nature walks.
The Malayan Nature Society, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, was formed in 1940 by a handful of colonial civil servants from the then Raffles Museum, Singapore Botanical Gardens, University of Malaya (then sited in Singapore), etc. The aim of the society … Continued
Bridelia tomentosa fruit, a new food item for the Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker Prionochilus maculatus
I had previously reported my observations on the diet of the Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker (Prionochilus maculatus) (see reference) which include: 1. Fruit of the Ficus racemosa (Cluster Fig), Ficus Benjamina, Ficus villosa, Melastoma malabathricum (Straits rhododendron) and Clidemia hirta (Hairy Clidemia). 2. I have also seen them inspecting the underside of … Continued
Frugivory (fruit feeding) by the Pin-striped Tit-Babbler (Mixornis gularis)
I had previously reported (Amar-Singh HSS 2016) an observation of a Pin-striped Tit-Babbler (Mixornis gularis) feeding on the fruit of the Macaranga heynei (Blue Mahang). At the time I thought it highly unusual with no good reports in the literature to … Continued
