Crested Serpent Eagle: Toad feast
The Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) is an extremely rare resident of the central forest of Singapore, where it is believed that one to two pairs still survive. However, for the last few years the eagle was barely seen at … Continued
Crested Serpent Eagle: Snakes alive
“True to its name, the diet of the Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) (left) consists mainly of snakes… and lizards. My observations of their feeding habit has been that they are not very particular, as in it being freshly killed. … Continued
Mobbing of owl by a murder of crows
Ann Stewart lives in Lacey, WA, USA, near to the Nisqually Wildlife Sanctuary. Recently her residential area was “shaved of its beautiful Doug fir forest, so some animals have moved into the neighborhood. However, owls were here before that, I … Continued
Melastoma and flowerpecker I
The Malays call the plant sendudok while the early colonial botanists misleadingly named it Singapore rhododendron or straits rhododendron. The plant is neither a rhododendron nor confined to Singapore. In fact it is found throughout Southeast Asian. The scientific name … Continued
Oriental Pied Hornbill: Nesting distractions
The trees around Changi where the Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) were nesting are also roosting and nesting sites of other birds (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). The cavities used by the hornbills are similarly sought after by … Continued
Chestnut-winged Babbler: Courtship and nest
The Chestnut-winged Babbler (Stachyris erythroptera) is an uncommon resident. It is designated as nationally vulnerable due to its small, localised populations. However, the species is relatively common in the Malay Peninsular and the island of Borneo. This is a forest … Continued
Black-Naped Monarch: Nesting defense strategy
KC Tsang was recently out birding with wife Amy when they came across Black-naped Monarchs (Hypothymis azurea) nesting in Sukau and Gua Gomantong, Sabah. “In all cases the monarch has the same or similar nesting defense strategy against predators. The … Continued
Common yellow stem-fig and white-leaved fig
I stumbled upon a 2003 paper by Kelvin S-H Peh and Chong Fong Lin, that appeared in the Ornithological Society of Japan’s journal, Ornithological Science 2:119-125. I was fascinated by their observations of two fig species and the birds they … Continued
Oriental Pied Hornbill: Parental infanticide
Among birds, siblicide refers to the killing of younger, weaker nestlings by the older, stronger ones through direct attack or by pushing them out of the nest. Parents normally permit such attacks because of scarcity of food. After all, it … Continued
Anatomy of a nest: Common Tailorbird
The nest of the Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) was collected from my neighbour Sheng Lau’s garden towards the end of April 2007 after it was abandoned (left). From the outside the nest appeared empty, even when turned over and shaken. … Continued
