Johnny Wee’s earlier account showed in vivid details an adult female Grey-rumped Treeswift (Hemiprocne longipennis) feeding a large chick as they both perched side by side on a branch.
What the series of still images is unable to show is how the feeding is initiated. And this is where Kumchun Chan’s video clip complements the images – see below.
According to Chantler (2000), “The feeding process is preceded, or initiated, by sibilant screaming (less shrill than that of the adults) and waving of the open bill.”
The second video (above) shows the chick alone by the nest making begging cries to the adult (probably nearby) for food and testing its wings to prepare for fledging.
Kumchun Chan
Singapore
September 2015
Reference:
Chantler, P. (2000). Swifts. A guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the world. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. 272 pp. (2nd ed.)
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behavior through photography and videography to a wider audience.
