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Bird aggression…

on 10th December 2009

Tales of bird aggression by Yi Yang (7th July 2009):

1. Around the vicinity of my house there are two common kingfishers, the Collared (Todiramphus chloris) and the White-breasted (Amaurornis phoenicurus ). The Collareds (there are two) are highly territorial, and although they hang around for the first half of the year while the White-breasted takes the other half, there just happened to be an instance when a Collared Kingfisher charged the White-breasted Kingfisher several times for about a couple of minutes before the White-breasted Kingfisher bid a hasty retreat.

2. Everyone knows that the House Crow (Corvus splendens) is an aggressive avian predator. However, there are two others: Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffini) and Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis). The two species have been known to chase the crows from time to time, never really hurting them.

Talking about hurting, crows have done things like that. When I was younger, my parents flew kites around the fields at Marina South. The kite was designed to resemble an eagle, and when it went in the air the crows tried to mob it.

Now on other species: At the Singapore Botanical Gardens I saw a bunch of treeducks who were all staring at one direction, looking at something. They were continuously looking and whistling and wouldn’t take any bread that passerby threw at them. That something that they were staring at was a Little Heron (Butorides striatus), who by all means was minding its own business. The six or seven ducks continuously called until the heron finally flew to another perch nearby. The ducks directed their look to this new perch and continued calling.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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