5 Apr 2022

Yellow-rumped Flycatcher – new food item and calls

by | posted in: birds, Feeding-plants, Vocalisation | 0
A new species to add to the birds seen feeding on the fruit of the Macaranga bancana. Saw a male and female Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia at the tree feeding actively. There was competitive feeding with other Flycatchers and other birds especially the Green-backed Flycatchers Ficedula elisae. Fruit is taken by aerial sallies or hover-snatching, returning to a new perch each time; hence hard to document. One image (below) showing the feeding attached (a dark image, rescued using Viveza 2 software from the Nik collection).
Interestingly the male Yellow-rumped Flycatcher was intermittently vocal – something I have not observed in the past (unlike Green-backed Flycatchers which often vocalise at migration sites). The calls were single notes uttered 1.5-2 seconds part. There appeared be another Yellow-rumped Flycatcher responding at times, perhaps the female.
Sonogram and waveform image attached (see above).
Call recording here: https://xeno-canto.org/712171
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS – Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
31st March 2022
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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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