“I have continued to monitor one pair of Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes (Hemipus picatus intermedius) nesting LINK.
“They have one chick that they are currently feeding. Had an opportunity to see nest sanitation. The episode occurred immediately after feeding. I was not able to determine any ‘signal’ that the parent gave the chick.
“The faecal sac extruded was eaten by the parent. Frank B. Gill (Ornithology, WH Freeman & Co, 3rd Revised edition, 2006) states ‘Incomplete digestion by nestlings leaves some residual food in their fecal sacs, which are often eaten by parents for nutrition as well as sanitation purposes.’
“A video of the event here (taken with a Nikon COOLPIX P900) is shown below.”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
22nd April 2015
Location: 1,600m ASL, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Habitat: A public road along primary montane forest