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Yellow-bellied Prinia

on 27th May 2008

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“The Yellow-bellied Prinia (Prinia flaviventris), which is grouped among the African warbler family, is considered to be common, and resident breeding in Singapore. They can be found among lallang grass (Imperata cylindrical), and other bushy plants in open, often degraded land that had been previously bulldozed over and prepared for construction of Housing and Development Board apartments or other uses. Land that had been left alone for some while, long enough for fast growing plants to recolonise it.

“This bird, with a grasshopper between it’s bill, was about to take it to her chicks (above). But are they actually her chicks? One need to ask this as these birds are often being brood-parasitised by the Plaintive Cuckoo (Cacomantis merulinus).

“The calls of this delicate looking bird often starts with mewing, like that of a cat, then it goes into a very pleasant repetitive rhythm, very difficult to describe.”

According to Wells (2007), the “song is delivered from a prominent perch at the top of cover, is a hurried tidli-idli-ul, stressed on the first and last syllables and repeated at length, sometimes with intercalation of an extra idli. The alram call is a scolding (almost mewing) cheeair single or repeated once, and males (only?) produce a sharp, cracking or tearing wing-throb, prr’up, repeated rhythmically as they fly over their territory (this noise also recorded from a nest-builder).”

KC Tsang
Singapore
May 2008

Reference:
Wells, D.R. (2007). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. II, Passerines. Christopher Helm, London.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

4 Responses

  1. Hi K C
    Thank you very much. I got the Prinias on camera and they do indeed make mewing sounds(I wasn’t sure it was the Prinias). I wasn’t sure of their calls because they visited my garden in a mixed bunch with sunbirds and tailor-birds. And in the cacophony, individual bird sounds were indistinguishable.

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