In late March 2009, Tang Hung Bun was at a forested area of the Central Catchment forest recently and photographed a bittern in the act of catching a frog. The ground was swampy after a few days of heavy rain and this probably attracted frogs to it.
Tan Kok Hui identified the bird as a male Von Schrenck’s Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus) with Yong Ding Li confirming it, who commented that the bird should be on its way back to its northern breeding grounds by now.
This rare bittern, a winter visitor to Singapore, was posted by another visitor, birder and blogger Charlie Moors in October 2008.
What of the frog that the bittern caught? We sent it to Dr Leong Tzi Ming who identified it as most likely a sub-adult Malayan Giant Frog (Limnonectes blythii) based on the location.
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