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Scaly-breasted Munias feeding on green algae

YC Wee
on 6th October 2017
Green mat of Spirogyra on the water surface (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons}.
Green mat of Spirogyra on the water surface (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

Lakshmi Ravishankar’s video clip of Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura punctulata) feeding on a green mat of growth along a stream was documented in Pune, India (below). An earlier post shows similar feeding in a drain in Perak, Malaysia.

Commonly known as Water Silk, Mermaid’s Tresses and Blanket Weed LINK, Spirogyra is a group of filamentous green algae that grow in clean freshwater where they develops into a slimy green mass floating on the water surface (top).

Strands of Spirogyra under the microscope showing the spiral chloroplasts (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons}.
Spirogyra under the microscope showing spiral chloroplasts (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

Under the microscope it can be easily identified by the spiral arrangements of the chloroplasts (above, below).

Spirogyra filaments under the microscope to show the spiral chloroplasts (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).
Spirogyra under the microscope showing spiral chloroplasts (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

Lakshmi Ravishankar
Pune, India
3rd October 2017

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

Bird Society of Singapore: A credible alternative to the Nature Society’s Bird Group

11th December 2023

Singapore-Nature: 17. Citizen Science

30th August 2023

Singapore-Nature: 16. Living close to nature

18th August 2023

Singapore’s secret “garden”

20th July 2023

Singapore-Nature: 15. Looking versus studying birds

12th July 2023

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Any views and opinions expressed in the articles 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.

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