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BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON – DIVERSITY OF FISH PREY

on 19th December 2012

“After numerous nights of monitoring the Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) along the canal near my home, a summary of its fish prey reveals that it consumes at least seven species, all of which are adapted to estuarine/tidal conditions. Apart from the catfish and rabbitfish previously reported, other fish species include:

Green Mollies (Poecilia sphenops) (above),

Crescent Perch (Terapon jarbua) (above),

Mullet (family Mugilidae) (above),

Green Chromide (Etroplus suratensis) (above),

and Mozambique Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) (above).

“Additional details on other piscivorous (fish-eating) avifauna that frequent this same stretch of canal may be found in Leong (2012). The importance of maintaining optimal water cleanliness and quality in this, and many other concretised ‘rivers’ around Singapore cannot be overemphasised.”

REFERENCE
Leong, T. M., 2012. Observations of piscivorous avifauna along Siglap Canal, Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 5: 291–307.

Dr. Leong Tzi Ming
Singapore
19th December 2012

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. Excellent pictures, thanks. I’ve seen this bird often but never been able to see exactly what it consumes. I also had no idea such big fish could be found in our canals – where was this taken?

    The egrets and herons I used to sight fishing at the Geylang canal (before it closed) all seemed to land very small catches. There is a small canal near the Tampines Eco-green that is also visited regularly by egrets and herons, and I have looked at the water but not seen any sizeable fish. Most of the canals are also filthy, some with huge oil slicks too – yet there are birds eating the fish from them. It makes me wonder how healthy that can be, if the water is so polluted.

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