A phalanx of Asian Openbills arrived in Singapore

YC Wee
on 21st December 2019

In January 2013, Johnny Wee encountered a few Asian Openbills (Anastomus oscitans) at Seletar West Link – see HERE. This was probably the first record for Singapore.

Asian Openbills (Photo: Johnny Wee).

This time around the openbills arrived at least by more than a thousand, according to field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng.

Risk Koh recorded on video more than a hundred feeding at Kranji Marshes on 14th December 2019. The video was taken from KM Tower which gave him some shelter from the rain (see below).

Resident in India, Sri Lanka to Thailand, these Asian Openbills have been migrating southwards since a few years ago. A cold front forced them to fly south in search of food. Up to a thousand birds were seen in Perak, Malaysia in 2013, believed to have flown from south Thailand LINK. And since then they are common in Peninsular Malaysia LINK. Now they have arrived in Singapore.

Asian Openbills feed mainly on Golden Apple Snails LINK.

Risk Koh & Wang Luan Keng
Singapore
15th December 2019

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.

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