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The Birds of Singapore… in progress…

on 3rd March 2011

The online book, The Birds of Singapore, was launched in September 2010. Initiated by ornithologist Slim Sreedharan, the book is aimed at providing, in one single site, all past and current information on birds encountered in Singapore. This will include morphological as well as behavioural aspects. And being published online, information can be updated regularly and errors corrected as and when detected.

The book is currently still under construction. However, checklists are in place, like those on passerines and non-passerines. Accompanying the checklists are thumbnail images that can be enlarged with a click.

The major section of the book will be the species account which can be conveniently accessed from this LINK. Click the “Short-cuts to completed Species Accounts” and you will be brought to a temporary page where all the species that have been completed are assembled. Clicking an image of a bird will being you to the species account of that particular bird.

Currently only 21 species have been written up. This is a labour of love for Slim who is compiling the species alone (volunteers welcomed). Slowly and meticulously, he is adding more and more species day by day. He is incorporating all the published information culled from his extensive collection of books in order to make the species account as comprehensive as possible. In addition, he is making use of the postings in this website for current information on behaviour.

Besides the usual sketchy information available in guidebooks, he is adding other details like descriptions of plumages of the different sexes and juveniles, habitats, behaviour, calls and songs, breeding information, migration, moulting as well as measurements of wing, bill, tarsus and tail. Where available, weight of the male and the female are included. Each species account is accompanied by a set of references and thumbnail images.

Now where else can you find all these information of the various species, all conveniently packed in one location? Definitely not in conventional guidebooks or any books for that matter. When completed, this online book will be the most up-to-date reference source on the birds of Singapore.

The images of some of the completed species are shown on this page. Why not check out the site by clicking HERE

According to Slim, he is pleasantly surprised by the response. “The site has had more than 15,000 hits, and from several strange locations and countries…”

BESG is proud to be associated with Slim on this ambitious project to make all published information on the birds of Singapore easily available to bird enthusiasts the world over.

YC Wee
Singapore
March 2011

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

  1. “Thank you for your update. By the way, I have re-organised all the files and set up the shortcuts page differently. Doing this now will save me a lot of time and cause fewer disruptions to readers who bookmark some of the pages.” [comment received from Slim]

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