12 Mar 2008

Encounter with ‘White-faced’ Plover at Changi

by BESG | posted in: Species, Waders | 2

“I received a tip-off on February 8th, 2008 from Martin Kennewell, that he had encountered a flock of the mysterious ‘White-faced’ Plovers at Changi that morning. The next morning, Martin Daniel and I set off for the site (with the help of my wife, Sham, who drove us to the end of the road).

“The site was at the northern end of the large area of reclaimation at Changi. Here, on the coast, a sand-bar extends out in a semi-circle but does not re-connect with the coast. Both of us reached the site after a walk that produced a few birds, including an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) and several Himalayan Swiftlets (Aerodramus brevirostris) migrating north.

“Walking out on to the sand-bar, we noticed that the large flock of shorebirds, mentioned by Martin Kennewell from yesterday, was largely absent. Instead, toward the end of the bar were a few shorebirds. We identified 3 pairs and an immature female Malaysian Plovers (Charadrius peronii) (above: 2 females and a male), 8 of the ‘White-faced’ Plovers, 2 Lesser Sand Plovers (Charadrius mongolus), a Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) and Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos). A flock of about 50 Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fluva) also flew over.

“I took a few photos but the White-faced Plovers were somewhat cautious, moving away when we got too close (above). Hence, my Panasonic Lumix was only good enough to make record shots.

“Lin Yangchen also visited the site a few days later, with a group of birders that included Martin Kennewell and David Blakewell. He managed a couple of much better shots of the White-faced plover, as seen here (left).

“Is this really a new species? They certainly looked quite distinctive when we saw them. A good case is certainly being built up by a few overseas birders and we now await capture of a bird to take a blood sample for final confirmation. Best of luck everyone!”

Input and images by Subaraj Rajathurai, except close up of bird by Lin Yangchen.

11 Mar 2008

Black-naped Oriole catching a cicada

by BESG | posted in: Feeding-invertebrates | 0

Dr Redzlan Abdul Rahman recently spotted a Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) with a cicada in its bill perching on a branch of a tree by his house in Raub, Malaysia. He rushed into his house, grabbed his camera and proceeded to take a few shots shown on the left. The bird was busy manipulating the large and stocky insect that he thinks may be an emperor cicada (Pomponia imperatoria), considering its size.

The mass singing by a large number of cicadas can often be heard in rural areas, especially around forests. The loud and shrill singing suddenly pierces through the silence of the rural air, and just as suddenly it stops, to restart after a short interval. This characteristic mating song is made by the males, to attract females. Such singing, it is claimed, can chase away birds, as the noise can hurt their ears and thus interfere with their communication.

Obviously the cicada caught by this oriole was a loner and the noise it emitted was not too irritating. The large wings are usually broken off as the insect is swiped against the branch to subdue it. Only then is the body swallowed. However, this last stage was not observed.

Cicadas are rather common where Dr Redzlan lives – often heard but seldom seen. These insects complete their life cycle underground. This may take from a few months to years, depending on species. The eggs are laid above ground but as they hatch, the nymphs fall to the ground and burrow under the soil. There they grow, shedding their old skins and developing new ones. This is necessary as the skin is not elastic and cannot expand as the body increases in size. Moulting occurs a few times and just before the final moult, the nymphs move above ground where the old skins are often left on tree trunks and branches, as seen in the image below (left). That on the right shows an adult cicada on a tree trunk. Note that this is a different species of cicada from the one caught by the oriole.

Black-naped Orioles take insects like grasshoppers, mantids, large caterpillars and hornet grubs. They also take a broad range of fruit, not to forget bird nestlings.

Cicada is here recorded as another food item of the Black-naped Oriole.

Images of oriole manipulating cacada by Dr Redzlan, other two by YC.

10 Mar 2008

The Hornbills are nesting again at Changi

by BESG | posted in: Hornbills, Nesting | 3

February is the beginning of the breeding season and at Changi the Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) are busy prospecting potential nesting cavities again. This is exactly one year after two failed nesting in Changi.

Chan Yoke Meng encountered a male hornbill picking fruits of the MacArthur Palm (Ptychosperma macarthurii) (above) to subsequently place them inside a tree cavity to induce the female to enter it.

An earlier account shows a female hornbill entering the nest cavity of the Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffini).

One of the sites inspected by a pair is the same cavity in an angsana tree (Pterocarpus indicus) by the main road that a female sealed herself in last year. The male was seen examining the cavity as well as another nearby. The female was even seen entering the cavity, to emerge about five minutes later.

This time around, it would be interesting to see whether they are successful in raising chicks. If so, the population on mainland Changi would see an increase from the current two pairs.

Image of hornbill eating palm fruits by Chan Yoke Meng.

9 Mar 2008

Nests of spiderhunters

by BESG | posted in: Nests | 0

Four species of spiderhunters are recorded for Singapore, of which Grey-breasted (Arachnothera affinis) and Spectacled (A. flavigaster) are now extinct. Thick-billed (A. crassirostris) and Yellow-eared (A. chrysogenys) are rare residents while Little (A. longirostra) is a common resident.

The spiderhunters build their nests on the undersurface of large leaves such as banana, ginger and aroids. The trough-shaped nest is anchored to the leaf with the help of plant fibres and cobwebs passed through many holes punctured through the leaf blade. Wells (2007) has described the nests of most species.

Ong Kiem Sian has documented the nest of the Long-billed and Spectacled Spiderhunters in her book, A Passion for Birds.

A Long-billed was photographer in the forest of Taman Negara, Malaysia, constructing its nest on the underside of a large banana leaf (above). The nesting materials of mainly dried plant materials are attached to the leaf through a number of holes on either side of the midrib with threads from spiders’ web. The web materials are teased into flattened blobs on the upperside of the lead as anchors.

Wells (2007) reports 76-84 holes spaced 2-3 cm apart on a banana leaf where a nest was attached. The actual nest is described as “a wide trough aligned along and below the support midrib, open at the drooping end of the leaf and closed off as a bulbous cup at the upper end…”

The arriving adults fly below the leaf and enters directly into the tunnel entrance.

The nest of the Spectacled Spiderhunter was taken at Panti Forest Reserve, Johor, Malaysia (above). It is a compact, thick-walled, basket-shaped nest made up of plant fibres. The nest is attached to the undersurface of a large, palmately lobed leaf with the aid of spiders’ web and/or plant fibres.

Morten Strange & YC Wee
Singapore
March 2008

Images from the book “A Passion for Birds” courtesy of Ong Kiem Sian.

Reference:
Wells, D.R. (2007). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. II, Passerines. Christopher Helm, London.

8 Mar 2008

Kingfisher catches skink

by BESG | posted in: Feeding-vertebrates | 0

“On 25th February 2008, John & By Cobb, Shamla Subaraj and I were birdwatchinbg at Seletar Camp. We observed a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) dived down and landed on a road (left top).

“On closer observation, we saw that the kingfisher had captured a Garden Supple Skink (Riopa bowringii) (left bottom). It must have been trying to cross the road when it was noticed and caught. The lizard was struggling in the bird’s bill and after a few more seconds, the kingfisher flew off with it’s breakfast.

“Just a short note to add another prey item to this kingfisher’s menu.”

The literature lists the food as earthworms, insects (cicadas, beetles, carpenter-bees, wasps, grasshoppers, stick insects, butterflies, moths), spiders, crustaceans (crabs, prawns), snails (gastrapods), fish including mudskippers, amphibians (frogs), reptiles (snakes, lizards) and birds (nestlings, eggs). Lizards include agamids, geckos and skinks.

Subaraj Rajathurai
Singapore
March 2008
(Images by YC Wee)

References:
1. Wells, D.R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London.
2. Woodall, P.F. (2001). Family Alcedinidae (Kingfishers). Pp. 130-249 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. (2001). Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 6. Mousebirds to Hornbills. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.

7 Mar 2008

Eurasian Tree Sparrow feeding fledglings

by BESG | posted in: Feeding chicks | 1

Where Dr Redzlan Abdul Rahman lives, in Raub, Pahang, Malaysia, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus) is one of the very common birds around. His 12 year old son, Muhammad Firdaus Redzlan, is so attracted to these sparrows that he regularly feeds them with rice grains. Is it a wonder then that these birds are always around their backyard? And this gave them the opportunity to document the adults feeding their fledglings. In the above images, the adult is shown on the left and the fledglings on the right.

The adult birds would pick up the grains scattered by young Muhammad and fly to their begging fledglings. The former then carefully place the grains into the gaping mouth of one of the two fledglings while the other would wait patiently for its turn (left). Note the prominent yellow oral flanges that line the bill of the fledglings and the reddish interior of their gapes (top right). These no doubt help the adult birds to zoom in with the food.

These fledglings are all the time hungry and begging loudly to be fed.

Images by Dr Redzlan Abdul Rahman and his son, Muhammad Firdaus Redzlan.

6 Mar 2008

Albino Javan Myna accepted by others of the species

by BESG | posted in: Morphology-Develop. | 4

“On January 13th, 2008, John McGeehin, Shamla Subaraj and I spotted an albino Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) at the main car park of Bukit Batok Nature Park.

“The time was about 5.30 pm and the bird was walking about a grass patch, searching for food. I managed to take a few photos. It was then that I noticed a “normal” Javan Myna foraging close-by. We observed the duo for a while and noticed that they were probably a pair as they kept fairly close to each other while walking around. Not too far away, another pair of “normal” Javan Mynas were also foraging in a similar fashion.

“Nearly a month later, on February 2nd, Huw Penry, Shamla Subaraj and I were about to leave the Bukit Batok car park, at 6.15 pm, when we noticed a flock of Javan Mynas flying across the road. With them was an albino myna, probably the same individual from early January.

“Although albino birds have been encountered from time to time, they usually seem to be on their own and not accepted by the others of their kind. As such, these observations were most interesting. Not only did this albino myna seems to have a normal mate, but it also seems to have been accepted by the rest as it was flying with the flock.”

Subaraj Rajathurai
Singapore
March 2008

5 Mar 2008

Sighting of Oriental Plover

by BESG | posted in: Migration-Migrants, Waders | 0

The Oriental Plover (Charadrius veredus) breeds from Mongolia to NE China (including a part of Russia). It migrates through Eastern China, Eastern South-East Asia, Wallacea and Micronesia to winter in Northern Australia, with a few reaching New Zealand. Its usual route bypasses Singapore. However, freak weather conditions or biological factors may cause the occasional Oriental Plover to make landfall on the east coast of Singapore.

One such plover was spotted at Changi Cove by David Bakewell and several fellow birders on a sunny morning on 17th February 2008. Apparently feeling ostracised amongst the flock of Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) with which it arrived, it harassed the latter birds by chasing them around.

This is only the eighth record of the Oriental Plover in Singapore. The first two were actually old records from 1891 (2 birds) and 1898 (2 skins). The next record was from 1985/1986, one at Changi. This was followed by 2-4 birds at Tuas in 1993 (Richard Ollington). Then came the 5th & 6th records; single birds in 1998 and 1999 at Seletar Estuary/Dam. The 7th record was one bird at Changi in 2006.

This latest record is even more special – it is the first time the plover is seen in Singapore in breeding plumage. The characteristic dark breast band of the male bird in breeding condition can be clearly seen in the photograph by Lin Yangchen.

Lin Yangchen and Subaraj Rajathurai
Singapore
March 2008

4 Mar 2008

Javan Myna chick: 1. Rescue

by BESG | posted in: Morphology-Develop., Rescue | 0

On 21st February 2008, Lin Yangchen offered me a Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) nestling that a colleague of his picked up near their office. This is my second nestling, the first was a Little Heron (Butorides striatus) that I looked after until it was ready for release.

Apparently the nestling must have been kicked out of the nest by its sibling, a common occurrence (above). Hatched naked and blind, as with all altrical young, the eyes of this nestling when picked up were open and wing feathers developing. So it cannot be newly hatched or even a few days old. Maybe a week or more?

The bird is covered with mostly black feathers, with patches of white feathers on the wings. However, when the wings are extended, the naked body becomes obvious, the pinkish skin showing prominently (left). There are no natal downs. All along the back is a narrow strip of black juvenal feathers. Along each side of the body is a similar strip of feathers.

There is a short tail, the developing feathers are only half emerged from their sheaths, the outer of which have white vanes and the rest black and white. On the rump, immediately in front of the tail is a yellow growth, the preen gland, also known as the uropygial gland (above). This secretes oil that the bird spreads over its feathers during preening, to prevent them from becoming brittle and probably to inhibit the growths of harmful microorganisms like fungi and lice. This gland is prominent in the half-naked chick and usually not at all obvious when all the feathers are in place.

The wing feathers are similarly incompletely free from their sheaths, about slightly less than half their lengths have emerged (left). The primaries and secondaries are all black. The primary coverts are white.

The light orange oral flanges are conspicuous. These are the temporary enlargements of the base of the bill, targets for the adults feeding the chick.

Immediately below the tail can be seen the cloacal opening, the vent, ringed with emerging pin feathers. The cloaca receives faeces from the large intestine, urine from the kidneys and eggs or sperms from the gonads. And it is though the vent that wastes are excreted.

The legs appear fully developed, with well-formed toes that come complete with claws. However, they are not strong enough to support the body. Thus the chick cannot stand upright but uses its heels and rump for support to sit upright (left). It moves with the heel and tarsus (that portion of the foot between the heel and the toes) flat on the ground.

The chick was not moving much and not making any sound at all. It weighed about 40 grams. But it did respond, opening its gape slightly, to offer of drops of water and even pieces of bread soaked in water. It even made soft chirps, indicating that all is well.

YC Wee & Lin Yangchen
Singapore
March 2008

Images by YC.
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3 Mar 2008

Changi hornbill inside nest hole

by BESG | posted in: Hornbills, Nesting | 0

“The pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) that have been in and around Changi Village for 2-3 years now, have tried unsuccessfully to nest a few times (see Related Posts, below).

“Since last year, I have seen the pair at the main Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) and Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffini) nesting area along the main road, on a few occasions. Each time, the cockatoos would be nowhere to be seen and the parakeets would be screaming up a storm.

“The female has tried to steal the cockatoos nest hole but no matter how hard she tried, she could not quite fit. A few times, possibly in frustration or just to stake her claim, she would place her whole body over the nest hole. As I have seen the cockatoo in that hole at other times, I could never tell if one was stuck in there during efforts.

“On January 30th, when Melanie Votaw and I visited the colony, we were surprised to find the female hornbill in the nest hole, with only her head and neck sticking out (top). We observed her for a while and Melanie managed some photos. She was rubbing her bill around the edge of the hole. The edge looked damp and brown as a result and I wondered whether she was actually using her own droppings.

“The hole still looked too small for her and was certainly much smaller and rounded compared to the normal slits that these birds choose. She would not really need to seal herself in very much, if she successfully laid eggs. The male was seen, for a short while, on a nearby branch.

“On the next Angsana tree (Pterocarpus indicus), both the Tanimbar Corella and Red-breasted Parakeet were at their own nest holes, while a Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) seemed to be lining the bough of the tree as well (above). Nesting galore!

“While the population of wild Oriental Pied Hornbills at nearby Ubin is now at 22+ birds, there are limited nesting sites due to the lack of sufficient large trees and the even smaller number of suitably sized nest holes. This situation is far worse on mainland Singapore, especially away from the Central Nature Reserves.

“Nesting boxes may be the answer and this is being tried out at Pulau Ubin. If this proves successful, more boxes can be set up at Changi and other eastern nature sites, in the hope that the hornbills will successfully colonise from Ubin.”

Subaraj Rajathurai
Singapore
March 2008
(Image of hornbill by Melanie Votaw, that of corella-parakeet by Chan Yoke Meng)

26 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
Wee Ming

17th September 2021 | Reply

Hello Besgroup,

Trust this email finds you well. We chance upon your photograph on your website and found the amazing image of the Laced Woodpecker and durians. We would like to explore the possibility of getting permission to use them for a new Bird Park in Singapore.

Spacelogic is a company based in Singapore and we have been contracted by Mandai Park Development to carry out design and build works relating to the exhibition interpretive displays in this new Bird Park.

Some background of the new Mandai Bird Park project; it will build upon the legacy of the Jurong Bird Park – https://www.wrs.com.sg/en/jurong-bird-park.html by retaining and building upon a world-reference bird collection and creating a place of colour and joy for all visitors. The new Bird Park will have a world-reference ornithological collection displayed in a highly immersive way with large walk-through habitats. To enhance visitors’ experience with storyline and narrative of the bird park, transition spaces are added to display exhibits that provide a varied type of fun, intuitive, interactive and educational experiences for all visitors. One of the habitats features the Laced Woodpecker on a flora panel It is in this flora panel that we are seeking your permission to feature the Laced Woodpecker. We are looking to use the first image on the link here.
Link can be found here: https://besgroup.org/2012/06/28/laced-woodpecker-and-durians/

We would like to ask if this is something that we can explore further and if yes, how can we go about with putting through a formal permission request. Thank you so much for considering our request and we look forward to hearing from you.

Warmest Regards,
Wee Ming
SPACElogic Pte Ltd

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