24 Jul 2008

A pair of munia’s nests: A misadventure

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding chicks, Nesting-failed | 0

Tan Teo Seng brought me what looked like a larger than usual munia’s nest (1, 2) on 7th July 2008. It had two entrances, one above, the other below. It was inadvertently cut off when his worker did some heavy pruning of his Duranta erecta shrub in his garden in Johor, Malaysia.

The structure was actually two nests, built side by side. The upper was 13 x 19 cm with an opening diameter of 3.5 cm; the lower 12 x 16 cm with a 3 cm opening. Both were ovals, the openings overhung with isolated pieces of grass inflorescence stalks.

After measurements the nests were left on a table in the porch. The top nest was empty as I could see the inside. The bottom nest appeared to be empty also.

In the evening I suddenly heard the chattering of what appeared to be a number of chicks begging for food. The sound appeared to come from the porch roof. As suddenly as it started, the sound ended a few minutes later. I was to hear the chirping on and off the next day. However, I could not locate the nesting area nor see and adult birds approaching to feed the chicks.

On the morning of 9th July, as I was standing by the two nests on the low table, the chirping suddenly started. Again it appeared to come from above. Imagine my surprise when I happened to glance at the nests and saw a chick at the entrance begging for food.

Only then did I realise that the chirping came from one of the two nests. The chicks moved out of the nest entrance to reveal another. The second chick was persuaded to emerge. There was a third but it appeared stuck inside. Only by carefully cutting the nest did I manage to extract it. There were a fourth, a fifth and a sixth. All were crammed inside the 7 x 8 cm nesting space and the cramming obviously caused the sixth and smallest chick to die. The image below (left) shows the five live chicks while the right image the sixth dead chick.

The five chicks were placed in a basin and fed with a liquid mixture of leftover boiled carrot soup. Initially, each chick was hand-held and persuaded to open its bill to accept the liquid food in drops, delivered via a dropper. In subsequent feedings a few of the chicks enthusiastically pushed their throats into the top of the dropper to receive the food.

The chicks were used to huddle together in the tight nest space (bottom left) and when given space to move around in the basin, still huddled together, the larger chicks climbing over the backs of the smaller.

It was easier to feed them thus. As each chick gaped, I was able to place drops of food into its throat. There was always fierce competition to be fed first. All five ate well. After each feed the throat pouch swelled (bottom right).

The scrambling, one on top of the other, apparently caused two other chicks to die on the 10th July, leaving three of the more healthy ones.

Sadly, the remaining three chicks died the next day. Did they die because of the feed? Do they need to be fed solid? Were they weakened because they were left without food during the first two days?

According to Teo Seng, he had earlier observed about six adult munias popping out one by one from the same two nests one evening when he was near the plant. He was not able to confirm from which of the two nests these birds flew out from but he was definite that they flew out of the nest/s. Otherwise all the birds would have flown off together when disturbed.

The literature mention egg dropping by female munias, meaning other females are prone to lay their eggs in an active nest. Normally about six eggs are laid per nest.

Another question that needs to be answered is whether munias roost inside empty nests. And how many birds can a nest accommodate for roosting. Field ornithologist Wang Luan Keng confirms that roosting in empty nests does occur. She further revealed that there may also be nest parasitism but this obviously did not happen here as all six chicks looked alike.

23 Jul 2008

Purple Swamphen eating mollusc

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding-plants | 1

Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) is a colourful large bird common in freshwater wetlands of Singapore and Malaysia.

The bird is predominantly vegetarian, eating a wide range of water plants: water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water spangle (Salvinia molesta), water lily (Nymphaea), lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and cyperus sedge (Cyperus), among others.

It is an opportunistic feeder and will also take fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, molluscs, leeches, small crabs, insects and their larvae and spiders when available.

In the image by Adrian Lim, the swamphen is seen taking a freshwater snail. Unfortunately, it is not known whether it simply swallowed it or break up the shell first before swallowing.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

22 Jul 2008

Details of the Baya Weaver’s nest

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Nests | 2

Towards the end of June 2008, Tan Teo Seng brought me two old and used nests of the Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus).

I was interested in making a detailed study of these nests (left), namely the fibres and strips of leaves used and how these materials were put together. Madoc (1956) reported a total of 3,437 fine strands of grass, varying in length from 2.5 to 60 cm were used in a nest. And this was only the so-called “male” nest – the partially completed nest minus the downward pointing entrance tunnel that is usually added once the female gives her approval.

I sat down and tried to untangle the fibres, count them and measure the longer ones. For a few days I tried to do so but with partial success.

There were a total of 260 fine fibres making up the entrance tunnel. These were easily untangled as they were loosely weaved around one another and the ends never knotted (below left). The longest was 42 cm long.

Untangling the outer layer of the main nest posed much problem. Many of the fine fibres ran the length of the nest, from top to bottom. The top end of these fibres invariably originated around the nest attachment – firmly twisted round and round as well as knotted to a twig or twigs. The other end was simply knotted around other fibres at the lower part of the nest. Along the way, there were a few entanglements as other fibres were twisted round it. Others fibres ran down the nest, to turn sideways or upwards, twisting round others in the process (above right).

Many of the fine fibres ran round the nest, breaking up into two halves way down, each end again knotted, while along the way it may be twined around other fibres and narrow leaf pieces. These fibres were relatively strong and rough along the edge, having come from the edge of grass leaves.

The inner materials were mostly narrow grass strips, placed along the length of the nest and not knotted. However, they were loosely tied together here and there. These leaf pieces were mostly dried and brittle, breaking off easily. Because of the irregular knotting and brittleness of the materials, an accurate count was not possible. I stopped counting after 500, covering only the surface of the nest, not counting the 260 fibres from the tunnel.

The longest fibre was 78 cm, although most were 40-60 cm long.

The inner nest chamber was lined with feathers, below which was a layer of floss from lalang grass (Imperate cylindrical) fruits (left top). A close examination of these feathers showed a total of 26 downs, semiplumes and retrices (left bottom). In nests that were earlier examined, feathers were never found.

YC Wee & Tan Teo Seng
Singapore
July 2008

Reference:
Madoc, G. C. (1956). An introduction to Malayan birds. Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur. (revised ed.)

21 Jul 2008

Rocky life on the aquatic edge

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Species | 0

The first thing that struck me when birding in Australia some years ago was the numerous species of aquatic birds that could easily be observed at ease at their rivers, ponds, lakes, swamps, rock edges, wetlands and seaside.

It is simply too complex to describe the large family order of Gruiformes. Instead, let us focus on just one of the sub-family- Rallidae. This cosmopolitan sub order comprises of rails, gallinules (moorhens, swamphens) and coots, ranging from sparrow-sized (15-16cm) to rooster-size (44-48cm) birds, they alone form sixteen species within which are two vagrants and three endemics.

This makes Australia a great place to be observing water birds.

And do you know that the famous New Zealand’s Takahe Notornis as seen in David Attenborough’s bird documentary series is related to the Swamphens?

My recent visit to Queensland in March coincided with hatchings of several waterbird species. It gave me the opportunity to showcase the endearing care of the Dusky Moorhens (Gallinula tenebrosa) and what it was like to be living on the precarious edge in this harsh and predacious world (top).

What makes this species different from our Common Moorhen (G. chloropus) as seen in Malaysia? While common as it sounds, it is not an aquatic bird that is frequently or easily seen close for they are shy and speed to hiding in reed-vegetation the minute they scent potential predators (left).

While both species look similar at field distance, the Dusky Moorhen is slightly larger without a white line along its flanks and its breeding season is virtually the whole year round.

Attached is an image of a breeding adult, showing colourful and rock candy feet of reddish-orange and bright red frontal shield with yellow tip at its best (right). Non-breeders/post breeders appear to have segmented olive, yellow-orange in their feet looking like they were sporadically dipped in mud.

There are still lots to learn about these birds. In the field, it remains difficult to tell the sex as they appear to look the same and there is no image specifically in current field guides that show otherwise. Much research papers are still in wanting. Perhaps further observation and documentation with ‘ornith-porny’ images of the Dusky Moorhen would be, say a decent start in determining their sex.

For now, let’s visit a small river in Queensland State to observe how they got on with their lives at the mercy of nature’s fury, as they propagated their species in their habitat.

At dawn (0615hrs), a reconnaissance along a river bank provided some interesting observation of a family of three sub-juveniles – Dusky Moorhens. They were seen huddled sleepily together on a vegetation of tattered nest, hung precariously over a boom, just before a stoned bridge. The nest appeared to have been devastated by a sudden flood of swollen, river waters after a dry spell. Half their home washed away (below left).

Further inspection by a parent showed that reinforcement was severely in wanting to keep the three oversized chicks together. It was observed this problem was solved by the parent turning up with restoration material l- what looked like a huge sheet of wet rag, dragged out from the river (above right).

“This will do… I suppose?” said a sympathetic and concerned parent as the green, algae-looking rag was dropped at the denuded nest, or what was left of it (left).

Is parental psyche ingrained into these birds at birth by laws of nature to nurture, to care and show compassion and affection? How did the parent know what to do without prior instruction?

Another observation in a different location of the same species provided great views through my telescope. I chanced a focus onto a pair of Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa resting on a rock (below left).

Their attention was drawn to a brownish-black, furry chick with unusual yellow beak, swimming in a large lake of green water vegetation. The chick was adventurously swimming away from its parent or parents, oblivious to the dangers that may be slithering under water and be had for a snack meal (above middle).

“Loo….k! Just look at her…!” cried the nervous sub-adult, Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa with grey legs to Rocky, the adult mate beside.

‘Mmm….are you sure that’s one of ours, dear?’ asked Rocky. He was cool.

“Of course. She’s got white chin and throat! ” retorted Rosa. The ‘late stage’ juvenile proceeded to holler out vigorously to the chick to get back to base (above right).

This parental behaviour observed of the adult and sub-adult was further clarified by a more knowledgeable Australian field birder who explained that sub-adults or ‘late-stage’ juveniles do con-sort with adults right through their juvenile stages. That would explain them being observed together.

“Oh, she’ll be alright. Just wanna bit of fun to check out the world, that’s all. After all, weren’t you taken in by my ‘tai chi’ stance on a croc the other day?” uttered Rocky on the croc (above).

“Was that croc real, dear…?” Rosa whispered sweetly.

“What were you thinking otherwise, luv?”

AVIAN WRITER DAISY O’NEILL PENANG MALAYSIA
© ROCKY LIFE ON THE AQUATIC EDGE

20 Jul 2008

Black-tailed Godwit in mandibular clash

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding strategy, Waders | 1

Allan Teo sent in an image of a pair of waders taken in India. Ong Tun Pin very kindly identified them to be non-breeding Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa).

Allan thought the birds were fighting and he was right. They are usually peaceful, feeding as a flock. But as soon as food is limited, each bird vigorously defends its feeding territory. And when another moves in, there will always be a quarrel. In the image above, the two birds are engaged in a “mandibular clash” using their long bills to settle a territorial dispute.

This godwit is a winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore and Malaysia. It breeds in Northeast Asia, moving south through the Indian subcontinent to reach Southeast Asia and even further to south New Guinea, north and west Australia. Fewer birds are now stopping over in Singapore, probably because of habitat loss.

The bird winters in sheltered waterways where there are intertidal mudflats and in sandy beaches, marshes, lake shores and rice fields. Food is chiefly invertebrates like insects, spiders, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, tadpoles and some seeds and berries.

19 Jul 2008

White-bellied Sea-eagle seized frog from pond

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding-vertebrates, Raptors | 0

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“Came across a White-bellied Sea-eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) snatching a frog from the surface of a pond at Bt Panjang area on 10th June 2008,” wrote Eddy Lee Kam Pang (above). This is a sequence to his encounter two months earlier with a sea-eagle catching a rat in a monsoon drain.

“This was my first time seeing such an action. A frog is surely not a regular prey item for this bird. Its usual diet consists mostly fishes, though I had seen this bird taking a rat previously in the same area.

“Was there a shortage of food source such as fish that drived this bird into hunting something else or was it purely by chance that the eagle spotted its easy target, need to be seen.

“The frog must had taken great risk swimming in the pond as there were other aquatc predators around, predators such as the Toman fish and Water Monitors formed part of the residents in the area as well.

“Whatever it was, we can safely add one more prey item to the eagle’s food source list.”

And as far as catching a rat is concerned, there was also a May 2006 post detailing the sea-eagle catching the rodent in the sea off the coast in Changi.

18 Jul 2008

Red-wattled Lapwing: Failed nesting

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Nesting-failed | 0

Lee Tiah Khee has been keeping watch on a pair of Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve since late May 2008 (above).

In early June he documented the two adults taking turns incubating the three eggs (below). Then he returned to the site on 14th June. It was raining heavily then but the pair was still incubating the eggs.

Two days later when he next visited, hoping to see the chicks, he was disappointed to find only two eggs left. That evening, these remaining two eggs also disappeared.

The eggs must have been predated somehow.

This lapwing is a rare resident. However, the population is slowly increasing as more sightings and nesting have been reported.

All images by Lee Tiah Khee, taken 50m away with a 800mm lens with a x2 converter attached.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

17 Jul 2008

Little Spiderhunter: Nectar from banana flowers

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding-plants | 4

An earlier post gave an account of a Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) collecting nectar from the flowers of the banana plant (Musa) by Dr. Redzlan Abdul Rahman

Now, he has photographed a Little Spiderhunter (A. longirostra) collecting nectar, also from banana flowers (above). NOTE: According to R Subaraj (see comment), the bird in the three images above is a Grey-breasted Spiderhunter (Arachnothera affinis).

The images on the left shows a Little Spiderhunter’s tongue extending beyond the tip of the bill. As with sunbirds, the tongue of a spiderhunter is also a closed tube along the major part of its length.

Spiderhunters feeding on nectar from various flowering plants is well known and extensively recorded. But feeding on spiders is not often documented. After all, these birds are called spiderhunters specifically because they are supposed to feed on spiders.

Much is not known of their animal foods and these need to be observed and documented.

16 Jul 2008

Whimbrel in record migratory flight distance

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Migration-Migrants, Waders | 2

Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are large brown waders with a prominent curved bill. These birds breed in the subarctic and arctic regions and winter south, moving to Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as all the way down to the southern parts of South America and Africa. In Singapore it is a common winter visitor and passage migrant, as shown in the image above, taken at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Researchers from the College of William and Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology and The Nature Conservancy in the US have observed the record-setting migration of a female Whimbrel named Winnie from its feeding grounds on the Delmarva Peninsula in the east coast of the US to breeding grounds on the McKenzie River near the Alaska-Canada border (see map, left).

Fitted with a state-of-the-art satellite tracking device weighing just over a third of an ounce, Winnie (left, insert) left the study area on 23rd May 2008, flying northwest at an average flight speed of nearly 22 miles per hour, covering more than 5,000 kilometers (3,200 miles) in no more than 146 hours. This is a new distance record in the flight range of this species. For more information, check out this LINK.

We thank Erin Zagursky, University Relations, College of William and Mary for updating us.

Joe McClain
USA
July 2008
(Image of Whimbrel by Dr Eric Tan, that of Winnie and her migrating route courtesy of the Center for Conservation Biology, US)

16 Jul 2008

Dark-throated Oriole catching caterpillar

by Wee- YC- | posted in: Feeding-invertebrates | 0

The Dark-throated Oriole (Oriolus xanthonotus) is a resident of Malaysia but has disappeared from the Singapore scene.

The bird is a generalist, taking fruits like figs and insects. In the above image by Sandy Chian, the oriole is seen picking a caterpillar from the branch of a tree.

This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

25 Responses

kris

10th January 2011 | Reply

I just found a young dollarbird in the garden.. It seems to have left the nest too early and cannot fly yet. How am i to keep and feed it for a few days untill it can fly.???
Raja

17th March 2011 | Reply

March 20 is world sparrow day!

CHIRP FOR SPARROWS!
TWEET FOR SPARROWS!
TEXT FOR SPARROWS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?client=mv-google&hl=en-GB&v=MQiq8FHrG_0&gl=US&nomobile=1
Iwan

26th April 2012 | Reply

We have a small pond in our garden surrounded by trees and steep bedrock. The other day we saw a heron flying over and attempting to land – I guess to try to eat our small stock of fish. We managed to frighten it away before it landed, and have since installed trip wires around the pond in order to dissuade the bird. The amount of shelter around the pond means that a heron would have to land practically vertically. Does anyone know whether these birds have the agility to hover and land in this way, or do they always need a “glidepath” in order to land successfully?
Khng Eu Meng

1st November 2012 | Reply

Today, at the former Bidadari Cemetery, there was a buzz about a sighting of a Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka). I heard some birders say this nightjar isn’t commonly seen in Singapore. After some hunting, we spotted it asleep on a tree branch, some 15 m above ground. This was rather interesting as my previous encounters with nightjars have been on either terra firma or on low branches.

Is this perching so high up the tree normal or is it unusual? I have posted a photo of it on my Facebook Timeline: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151125012234135&set=a.108191464134.96538.617499134&type=1&theater
Jess

21st February 2013 | Reply

Bird Sanctuary At Former Bidadari Cementry

1)Which is the best spot in Bidadari cemetery for bird watch?

2)Where this bird usually resident at?

3)What are some of the rare bird species that can be found at Bidadari?

4)Where is the particular hot spot for the hornbills, eagles, kingfishers and some of the rare migratory bird?

5)Which part of Bidadari are richest in it wildlife?

6)Can you name me the 59 migratory bird species found?
YC

22nd February 2013 | Reply

Why not search the website using the word ‘Bidadari’ to obtain the information you need. There should be sufficient info in past postings to satisfy you.
Firdaus Razak

23rd March 2013 | Reply

Hai, I just want to ask did anybody had an experience bring bird from oversea via MasKargo? Did the bird will stress at high altitude?
Arjun

29th March 2013 | Reply

I heard this interesting bird call in a forest, and recorded it. Could anyone help me identify it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uubzo1wdbU&feature=youtu.be
Chung Wah

13th May 2014 | Reply

Hi, I am new to bird photography! Could anyone advise a good pair of binoculars to get for this hobby?
YC

14th May 2014 | Reply

Try this Facebook… https://www.facebook.com/groups/394479540610099/
I am sure there would be someone willing to advise.
Geam Liang

29th January 2015 | Reply

I ‘acquired’ a female Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot 5 days ago – was in a public place when the bird flew overhead hit the wall and dropped right in front of me dazed. I picked it up, it appeared unhurt but could not sustain it’s flight. I have since constructed a fairly large ‘cage’ for it, about 4ft x 2fx x 2ft and placed it there last night. I temporarily placed her in a normal bird cage until I had completed the build.
From what I have read up, it’s a fruit, seed and insect feeder and also nectar, flower buds. It’s doing as well as it can on bananas, papaya, jack-fruit (didn’t touch the grape) and seeds (black and white sunflower and other smaller ones). It loves to bathe so I’ve gotten it a tray and from what I read it’s important to keep things clean as it easily succumbs to infection.
Does anyone else have any useful experience and sharing on it’s upkeep? I suspect this bird is an escapee – as far as I can read up, it’s not common, if at all, found in Georgetown, Penang where I am. I’m also not optimistic that it can survive if I were to set it free – assuming it can sustain it’s flight and not go crashing down and if there were dogs/cats around that would be the end of it.
I can attach some pictures but not sure how to do this…
thanks.
Lee Chiu San

29th January 2015 | Reply

The blue-crowned hanging parrot, even though very closely related to the lovebirds, is a nectar feeder. You would raise it the way you raise a lorikeet – which is a messy process. And because you are mixing batches of food for just one little bird, whereas I used to do it for about half a dozen pigeon-sized lorikeets each morning, I don’t know how you are going to get the portions down to manageable sizes. Anyway, here goes, with my recipe for feeding big lories. You can adjust the proportions down accordingly for your little bird.

The staple diet would be a couple of slices of soft fruit (papaya, apple, grapes, even though I am surprised that you said the bird would not eat any) and a mixture of cooked rice sweetened with nectar mix.

How to make nectar mix? Go to a pharmacy and get a can of food for invalids or infants. I use Complan, but I am sure any good baby formula would do. I usually make up enough to fill a beer mug, but there is no way you need that amount for a day’s feeding. If in doubt, make the mixture thinner, not thicker. Birds cannot digest baby formula that is too thick. If it is too thin, they simply have to consume more to get the required amount of energy. Then to this mug, add half a teaspoonful of rose syrup. Also stir in about a cup of cooked rice, well mashed up.

In the case of your bird, I suggest that you pour this lot into an ice-cube tray, freeze the mixture, and defrost one cube to feed it each day.

Now, you said that this bird eats sunflower seeds. This is most unusual for a blue-crowned hanging parrot. Are you sure that this is actually the species you have? Could it be possible that you have actually got a pet lovebird that escaped? There are so many different artificially-created breeds of lovebirds in so many colours that you might have been mistaken.

If you actually have a lovebird, feeding is much simpler. Just go to the nearest pet shop, buy a packet of budgerigar or cockatiel seed of a reputable international brand, and offer it to the bird. You can supplement this with a couple of slices of fruit each day, and that will be all. Plus of course fresh water and a piece of cuttlefish bone to nibble on.
Lee Chiu San

29th January 2015 | Reply

About nectar feeding birds. I forgot to add that feeding nectar is messy, and it goes rancid very quickly in our tropical weather. Feeding containers have to be removed and thoroughly cleaned at the end of each day. The birds also splatter the mixture and wipe their beaks on perches and the bars of the cage. All my lories and lorikeets used to be housed in outdoor aviaries which were hosed down daily.

If Geam Liang does not think the bird will survive if released, I really hope that it is a case of mistaken identity, and that you have a lovebird, rather than a blue-crowned hanging parrot. In our part of the world, all available lovebirds are domestically bred, take to captivity readily, and are easy to feed with commercially available seed mixtures. Yes, and being domestic pets, they would not survive if released.
Geam Liang

30th January 2015 | Reply

Thank you Chiu San for your inputs. Thus far, bananas and papayas work well. I’m not sure why it did not take to grapes – will try again. Am I supposed to peel it? I didn’t the last time, basically skewered a couple of grapes to a satay stick and positioned it as I did for the sliced and skinned papaya and peeled bananas.
I have yet to try rice and certainly not nectar but will try out your concoction – have half a mind to go to a pet shop to see if they carry nectar for birds. The ice-cube freeze method is a good one, will try that. I might be mistaken on the sunflower seeds… not touched but it did eat the much smaller roundish, mixed colored seeds. Will remove the sunflower seeds.
I’m sure it’s a female blue crowned hanging parrot.. it sleeps like a bat every night.
Lee Chiu San

30th January 2015 | Reply

When feeding local birds which are unfamiliar with imported fruits such as grapes, it helps to split the fruits to expose the edible parts. As to your remark that the bird sleeps hanging upside down like a bat, yes, that is the way blue-crowned hanging parrots sleep.
Geam Liang

30th January 2015 | Reply

Thanks… I need to think like a bird – yup. She has probably not seen a grape much less know that it’s edible, unless the previous owner has fed her with grapes… even then… Today she’s done pretty well making the most of the banana and all of the papaya plus quite a bit of seeds. Will try the baby food + mashed rise + rose syrup.
Will regular honey do instead of rose syrup?
Thanks.
Lee Chiu San

31st January 2015 | Reply

About making nectar to feed birds. Most aviculturalists do not use honey for two reasons: 1. It is expensive and does not seem to give any added benefits. 2. Honey is made by bees, and the composition varies wildly. Some honeys are also known to cause fungal infection in birds.

If you do not want to buy a huge bottle of rose syrup just for one tiny bird, there are cheaper alternatives. The first is plain table sugar, though most don’t seem to like it very much.

What many birds will accept quite readily as a sweetener is condensed milk – the type with sugar that coffee shop owners use.

Many, many birds have a sweet tooth (or should I say sweet beak?) Besides the usual suspects of lories, lorikeets, sunbirds and hummingbirds, for whom it is an essential part of the diet, nectar mixture is readily consumed by mynahs, leafbirds, fairy bluebirds, barbets, doves, parrots of all kinds, and a whole host of other species.
Geam Liang

2nd February 2015 | Reply

I tried the condensed mild, placed in in a small bottle cap.. only the ants showed interest. Am I supposed to dilute it? I didn’t =( I took you advice and refrained from honey. Have yet to find Rose Syrup from the shelves of TESCO… will try to mix the baby food + mashed rise + rose syrup/sugar syrup this week…
David Thackray

29th March 2015 | Reply

Can anyone help me identify a bird I saw in Singapore last week. Size of a smakll dove or thrush. Dark metallic back. Grey breast with red throat, chest.
BESG

29th March 2015 | Reply

Any images?
Emily Koh

21st June 2015 | Reply

Lately I bought a bird feeder which I fill with 4parts water n 1 part white sugar. Sunbirds come regularly to drink and they are really lovely to watch. May I know if it is bad for them to feed on this? Previously they would sometimes pierce and drink from my potted flowers
Emily Koh

21st June 2015 | Reply

Lately I bought a bird feeder which I fill with 4parts water n 1 part white sugar. Sunbirds come regularly to drink and they are really lovely to watch. May I know if it is bad for them to feed on this? Previously they would sometimes pierce and drink from my potted flowers.
Ken Sng

12th September 2015 | Reply

Hi Friends,

I need help in identifying these 13 birds which i’ve published in a public album on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/81819728@N00/y8ws5B

They are numbered 1-13 so if you know what they are please reply with number and name .

I’m doing a personal project to shoot 100 different birds in SG.

Thanks very Much !
Mahadevi Bhuti

19th October 2015 | Reply

One of best souce for the bird watcher’s enjoying knowledge about ornithology
Martin Nyffeler (PhD)

20th June 2018 | Reply

Dear Sir / Dear Madame,

I am a Senior Lecturer in Zoology at a University in Switzerland and I urgently need to get in touch with photographer Chan Yoke Meng, who takes beautiful photographs of birds near Singapore. Would you please mail me the email address of this photographer!

Thanks,
Martin

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