In late April 2010, a pair of Oriental White-eyes (Zosterops palpebrosus) completed building their nest after which the female laid two eggs. Both eggs hatched but unfortunately one chick disappeared from the nest when Lee Tiah Khee returned to check a week later. The remaining chick was doing well until it nearly fell off the nest in its excitement when an adult arrived with food.
Fortunately for the chick, it used one of its wings to hang on and managed to return safely to the nest. Things turned bad the next day when the adult returned with food. The chick was gone.
Nest predation is generally high among tropical birds. According to Stutchbury & Morton (2001), it can be as high as 80-90% as compared to a low of 40-60% of many temperate zone songbirds (Martin, 1993).
References:
1. Martin, T. E., 1993. Nest predation among vegetation layers and habitat types: revising the dogmas. American Naturalist, 141: 897-913.
2. Stutchbury, B. J. M. & E. S. Morton, 2001. Behavioral ecology of tropical birds. Academic Press, London. 165pp.
