For more than a few weeks I have been hearing a series of calls sounding like kej-kej-kej-kej-kej in rapid succession. The calls came in the early evenings and lasted minutes at a time. Then one evening I was alerted to a pair of birds perching on the top of a semi-bare Fern Tree (Schizolobium parahybum) some distance away. A few days later the calls were again heard. This time the pair was seen on the TV antenna of my front neighbour’s house (below).
I was able to photograph the birds and identified them as Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis). Behind the house is a large patch of bare land with isolated old trees. The pair must be nesting in a cavity in one of these trees.
Dollarbirds love to perch on bare branches of high trees and the TV antenna at the top of the house served their purpose. One of them was responsible for the series of calls, possibly to defend their breeding territory. On and off one or sometimes both would fly off, to return soon after.
YC Wee
Singapore
15th July 2018
