Search

Cream-vented Bulbul and Short-tailed babbler bathing

on 2nd September 2010

“It was late in the evening, at around 5.00pm when the birds would come one at a time to their favorite bathing spot, a small shallow flowing stream in the middle of the jungle. The lighting was pretty bad, but my video-cam just manage to cope with the condition.

“The first to the bathing spot was the Cream-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus simplex), considered an uncommon bird, and nationally near threatened. The bulbul was at first very wary of my presence, hopping from branch to branch and maintaining a constant visual contact with me. Having satisfied that I was no threat, it plonked itself into the shallow flowing stream. With vigorous fluffing and shaking of feathers, it started to have a bath. The bird hopped out of the water, proceeded with drying its feathers, and than hopped back down into the pool and got itself wet again. And for a couple more times!

“After the Cream-vented Bulbul left the bathing spot, the Short-tailed Babbler (Malacocincla malaccensis) ventured in and having seen that the bulbul was not at all harmed by my presence, immediately went into the pool to have a bath. The babbler did the same thing as the bulbul, wetting itself and shaking off the water from its plumage – then preening, before going back into the water to wet itself again.

“Was its action of shaking off the water also allowed it to shake of some parasites living among its feathers?”

KC Tsang
Singapore
21st August 2010

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

One Response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
799
21112
Visitors Today
51794239
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)