“Came across a pair of breeding/nesting Common Ioras (Aegithina tiphia horizoptera).
“A breeding adult male spotted a curled up leave (caterpillar to pupa stage) and immediately there was change in his demeanour – became excited and sharp. He put his head in to investigate and confirmed there was prey (above left).
“He then gripped the leave with the left foot and proceeded to open up the leaf by alternating poking and opening the beak to shred the leave (above right). Have seen this behaviour with sunbirds as well LINK. After a number of tries the prey was accessible (left) and he pulled it out, branched swiped 3-4 times and off to feed his hungry babies.
“Note that although this male is breeding, the darkness of the crown and nape is not as dark as I have experienced with other males.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
29th May 2011
One Response
Good timing and footage of the hunting process.