This is the second time I have observed White-breasted Waterhens (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus) feeding on Bananas (genus Musa). This was in a thicket but the bird still had to climb up about 2 meters to get to the fruit. The … Continued
Fairy pitta (Pitta nympha) is a rare migrant to Singapore. It should be classified as a vagrant. Pittas are shy forest birds which often stay on the forest floor looking for ants, worms, slugs, snails, beetles and small snakes. The … Continued
I saw this unusual behaviour of a White-breasted Woodswallow (Artamus leucorynchus amydrus). As it commonly does, it hawks for insects from a perch, often man-made electrical wire or pole. This one had caught a large butterfly (ID uncertain) and brought it … Continued
I watched this White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus phoenicurus), using the car as a hide. It was ‘flipping’ its wings left and right for 1-3 minutes – see video and image composite. I was sure it was not drying the wings. … Continued
Spent the morning watching a number of different barbet and bulbul species and other birds feasting at a fruiting Ficus benjamina in the forest; fruit diameter is 2.0-2.5cm. This is a favourite fruit of many, many birds and when fruiting there … Continued
I observed a pair of Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) foraging this morning (only adult female shown). They were in fairly dense growth and images were washed with the early morning yellow light. I heard a number of their loud contact … Continued
The Green-backed Flycatcher (Ficedula elisae) is considered an uncommon winter visitor to peninsula Malaysia. My local experience is that, while this is not as common a migrant as the Asian Brown Flycatcher, is it almost as commonly seen as the … Continued
I spent some time with this first winter female Green-backed Flycatcher (Ficedula elisae) that was feeding on insect prey by aerial sallies; it seldom returned to the same perch. The presence of mottling below (diffusely-patterned scalloping on the breast) and … Continued
Two juveniles Java Sparrows (Lonchura oryzivora) with two adults self-feeding on seeds of tall ‘grass’ or reeds. Note the paler bare parts and moult of the juveniles in all the images here. The two juveniles (presumed from the same family) … Continued
A single Java Sparrow (Lonchura oryzivora) feeding on both grain from wild plants as well as rice put out to feed sparrows and munias. Amar-Singh HSS (Dato’ Dr) Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia Location: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia Habitat: Semi-urban Date: … Continued
