A family of Red-breasted parakeet caught the attention of BICA photographers. Cooperative breeding? This post is a reproduction of posts that the private BICA Facebook group is happy to share with bird lovers.
Photo 1: Family portrait of three adults (2 males and 1 female-the bird with black upper bill) and three chicks of Red-breasted parakeets. Jalan Bukit Merah, Singapore. October 2024. Photo credit: Alex Han
This link https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Cooperative_Breeding.html describes cooperative breeding in some birds. Below is an excerpt taken from this article:
“Cooperative” or “communal” breeding occurs when more than two birds of the same species provide care in rearing the young from one nest. About 3 percent (approximately 300 species) of bird species worldwide are cooperative breeders. There are two types of cooperative arrangements: those in which mature nonbreeders (“helpers-at-the-nest” or “auxiliaries”) help protect and rear the young, but are not parents of any of them, and those where there is some degree of shared parentage of offspring. Cooperative breeders may exhibit shared maternity, shared paternity, or both.
Sangmen Wong documented a male adult tending to the chicks while David Kow captured the moment a chick peeped out of the nest curiously to admire the great wide world. All the photographs were taken at the same nest spot in October 2024.
This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behaviour through photography and videography to a wider audience.
