Coppersmith Barbet chicks with a steely spirit
“In 2001 we noticed a pair of Coppersmith Barbets (Megalaima haemacephala) excavating a nest hole in a dead branch of a Flame of Forest tree (Delonix regia) in our work place. For two consecutive seasons we watched them feed (right) … Continued
Cannas and nectar harvest
Cannas are popular border plants with large, showy flowers of red, yellow or yellow spotted with red. These plants are native to tropical America and have been cultivated in Singapore for decades. All these garden cannas are hybrids (below). The … Continued
Asian Koel eating Indian cherry
More than a year ago, KC Tsang sent in images of a male Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) eating the fruits of Indian cherry (Muntingia calabura) in his father-in-law’s garden (left). I did not pay much attention to them then as … Continued
Red-breasted Parakeet and African Tulip seeds
The Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) has been documented by Mark Chua eating the seeds of the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) (above). This is another example of an exotic bird eating fruits/seeds of an exotic plant. The earlier example is … Continued
Sunbird and flowerpecker: Pollinating mistletoe flowers
Dendrophthoe pentandra is a common mistletoe plant that is semi-parasitic on wayside trees (above left). The mistletoe is spread by flowerpeckers and sunbirds that eat the fruits and excrete the sticky seeds when perching on the branches of shrubs and … Continued
Birds, bats and a tembusu sprig
Early one morning I found a fresh sprig of tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) with ripe berries still attached, on the top of my car’s boot (left). The car was parked under the porch with the rear end jutting out near to … Continued
A time for reflection…
It has been two years since the Bird Ecology Study Group was formally constituted. The group’s blog has all along been highlighting various aspects of bird behaviour. To date, there are more than 500 posts involving 27 broad categories from … Continued
Asian Koel: First recorded begging-call mimicry
On 7th October 2007, Erik Mobrand wrote: “For the past few weeks we have had two noisy koels outside our window regularly. What is striking is that these individuals (a female and a male, perhaps juvenile) do not make the … Continued
Grey Heron fishing: The one that didn’t get away
The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is found around waters, be they fresh, brackish or salt. You can usually see them near rivers, lakes, marshes, mudflats, mangroves and rice fields. The bird feeds mainly on fish, although it also takes aquatic … Continued
A celebration of birds
Today is Blog Action Day. All bloggers have been encouraged to set aside this day to write something on a specific theme: Environment. BESG is celebrating Blog Action Day with a montage showcasing some of the birds that can be … Continued
