Yellow-bellied Prinia  – warning calls

on 14th February 2022

Apart from the delightful song that Yellow-bellied Prinias (Prinia flaviventris rafflesithese) make, they have a variety of calls which include a warning call that sounds like a cat mewing. Wells (2007) describes it as “cheeair”, Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (2019) as “pzeeeu” and Robson (2002) as “pzeeew”.

Sonogram and waveforms (above) show that the call is short at 0.5 seconds and recurring at 2-2.5 second intervals and repeated many times (noted up to 15 times).

A recording of the call is located here: https://www.xeno-canto.org/505100

An image of the adult female making the call is shown above; they must be breeding.

 

Amar-Singh HSS (Dato’ Dr) – Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Location: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Habitat: Secondary growth at fringe of city

Date: 30th October 2019

Equipment: Nikon D500 SLR with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, handheld

 

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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