Philip Chen’s August 2017 video clip was documented at a typical coffee shop where the outdoor tables are usually left uncleared for some time.
Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) will be the first scavenger to appear, eating the scraps left on the plates.
According to Philip: “One observation I have is that they tend to sing (actual nice songs instead of screeches or ugly sounds) from a close distance while waiting for people to finish their food, and swoop in to take the leftover once the person left. I have made this observation twice when it happened to me, but have not captured footage yet. My hypothesis is that they sing because they want to incentivise people to feed them or leave some food for them.”
Other birds that take advantage of such a situation include Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) and crows (now scarce due to culling).
Philip Chen
Singapore
25th November 2018
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