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Feeding Black-naped Oriole from a highrise building

on 19th December 2010

On 14th December 2010, we received video recordings from mac man on the unusual behaviour of a Black-naped Oriole. The attached note reads: “…the Oriolus chinensis … appears regularly, approx 3 times a days (morning, afternoon and evening) at the same location … when he arrives, will start calling and the resident on the same unit level will appear at window edge to feed the bird. I do not know when it started and don’t think the resident in the unit owns the bird, is so interesting that a wild bird can be so tame.”

This is a most unusual behaviour for a Black-naped Oriole to regularly fly from its sheltered perch in a nearby tree to an open window of a highrise apartment building to be fed. Normally the oriole is an extremely shy bird. In most instances you can hear its loud melodious whistles but it will inevitably avoid your line of vision, moving behind foliage to avoid detection. But once you make eye contact, it will fly off.

The two short videos, recorded on different days, have been combined into one and uploaded by KC Tsang to YouTube.

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

3 Responses

  1. There is possibility that the oriole may had been raised in captivity and released in the wild by the same man that feeds it? Or that was a success after years of attempts trying to feed it and assuring it that it was safe.

  2. I stumbled upon 4 similar Youtube videos uploaded by a Youtuber “gunnersclub”. To satisfy my curiosity, and I am sure others, I messaged him and he came back with a reply which I quote (with his consent) below:

    “Hi, since few years back, I’ve been feeding them whenever they come near my kitchen and start calling their melodious sound. Actually it was my mum who started feeding them at first. (By the way, I don’t know who the person in MAC MAN’s video is.)

    I know those birds well but I don’t own them, all of them came from the wild themselves.

    They won’t go away unless I feed them. And they sometimes come in pairs (maybe they are lovers), waiting and calling, untill they get their food. Some times they keep on coming back 2 to 3 times in a row for food, I guess they should be quite hungry then.

    There were also times when a mother Oriole fly to me together with her baby bird. At times I also saw the mother bird came and took the bread I gave her, flew to the other tree nearby, to feed her baby bird.

    Usually they come in the morning (about 730am), afternoon (about 3pm) and evening (about 7pm).”

    From what I saw, the man in Mac Man’s video and “gunnersclub” lived in different blocks as the paint colours on the walls and building features were not the same. It is possible that more than 2 people are feeding the Orioles.

    One of gunnersclub’s videos can be viewed here:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6tD55XO0Z0

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