Following Richard Hale’s contribution on Drunken Javan Mynas, I have managed to source out instances of other drunken birds as well as mammals and even insects. It would appear that humans are not the only species that is addicted to alcohol.

1. In many Southeast Asian countries palm inflorescences are tapped for a sweet drink that can be boiled down into palm sugar or fermented into toddy. These palms include coconut (Cocos nucifera), toddy (Borassus flabellifer) and fishtail (Caryota urens) palms. And it has been known for some time that Blue-crowned Hanging Parrots (Loriculus galgulus) regularly steal palm toddy from collecting pots placed over bound palm inflorescences, to become quite intoxicated afterwards. Lories have also been known to be addicted to palm toddy.

2. In February 2005 dozens of birds got drunk after eating holly berries (Ilex aquifolium) from trees found in an enclosed courtyard of a three-storey office building in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. After these Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) feasted on the berries, many fell off branches while others crashed into the glass of the building and died. A local naturalist reported that these birds have a huge appetite, some even eating until they drop dead.

3. In Auckland, New Zealand comes a report that many kereru or New Zealand Pigeons (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) became drunk after eating fermented guavas. They fell out of trees and bumped into windows after become intoxicated. About 30 birds had to be rescued by staff from the Whangarei Native Bird Rescue Centre in June-July 2005 as they were vulnerable to predators like cats and dogs. It was reported that there was a shortage of food in the forest forcing the birds eating the guavas.

4. Clare Kines from the Arctic Bay in Canada, some 700 km north of the Arctic Circle, wrote to say that where he lives, Robins regularly got drunk on honeysuckle berries.

5.Mike of Santa Barbara, California, who posted Growing Up with California Condors in the current I and the Bird carnival, made an interesting comment to Richard Hale’s posting on drunken mynas:

“Many years ago in the western foothills of the California Sierra where apple orchards were common, I happened to be next to one talking to a friend. At that moment, a Robin walked out from underneath his pickup, eyed us and fell over on its side. ‘Don’t pay it no mind. It’ll be OK. It’s just drunk as a skunk. Look over there’ he gestured toward the orchard. That’s when I noticed that it was full of noisy, very wobbly Robins. The apples still on the trees had frozen and fermented as they thawed.

“Imagine, a bar room filled with drunks who could fly. They were singing, fighting, and missing branches by feet in their attempts to land. Occasionally, a bird would apparently just pass out and fall off a limb in the boneless drop of the truly whacked. Some had abandoned flight altogether and were weaving through the grass.

“It happens every so often when we get a frost before the pick’s finished. Robins are the worst. My wife says they must of Irish in another life. Tomorrow, it’ll be real quiet. Man could make a fortune off aspirin if those birds had money.”

6. It has been observed that if parrots get drunk, they become more talkative, only to stop talking altogether after they fall over. Smugglers of rare birds in Mexico regularly overdose their birds with tequila to quiet them when crossing the border into the US.

7. Elephants regularly gorge themselves with fermented fruits to end up drunk and not being able to walk straight.

8. Bumblebees, hornets and wasps lose their coordination after feeding on fermented fruits.

9. Margie Hall sent a report of a party of drunken elk in Sweden attacking an old people’s home. They had earlier feasted on fermenting apples. “I am sure many of us know how great cider (made from fermenting apples) tastes and can understand why the elks are addicted to them,” says Margie.

10. It seems that monkeys are just like humans in their drinking behaviour. At McGill University in Montreal, researchers fed Green Vervet Monkeys with alcohol and found that they could be classified into four categories: teetotaler, social drinker, steady drinker and binge drinker. Most were social drinker, indulging in moderation and only with other monkeys, and never before lunch. In a cage of these monkeys, they acted like they were in a cocktail party. One got aggressive, another became sexy, one was the clown of the party and another became the grumpy of the group. The binge drinker ended up on the floor

Sunbirds are small, hyper-active and highly colourful in the males but not the females. There are six species in Singapore, of which four can be regularly seen in the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: Brown-throated (Anthreptes malacensis), Copper-throated (Nectariana calcostetha), Olive-backed (N. jugularis) and Crimson (Aethopyga siparaja). Of these, the most common is the Brown-throated. It is also the largest, with a body length of up to 139 mm and a weight of up to 14 g. The male is generally larger than the female in terms of both length and weight. The Crimson and the Olive-backed qualify as the smallest of the four. These two species share a common characteristic in that they exhibit an eclipse plumage in the males. This is essentially a short-term post-breeding plumage.

Now how many years do sunbirds live? Studies elsewhere have shown that certain species can live as long as 12 years. We at the reserve have been monitoring these birds by ringing studies for many years now. We have records of all the species except the Crimson, showing that they can live for at least 5 years.

Contributed by James Gan, Senior Conservation Officer, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
Adapted from an article by James Gan in Wetlands Vol. 9 No.3
pp.10-11, an NParks Publication.

Comment by Bird Specialist R Subaraj
Elsewhere in the world, regular long-term banding projects have proven invaluable in obtaining a wide spectrum of data about birds, including their life expectancy in the wild. In Singapore, the only regular long-term banding is carried out at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve and as such, the only source for particular aspects of bird ecology here.

David Wells’ Malayan Bird Report of 1974-1975 discussed the subject of longevity of local birds. It mentions that based on continued ringing in Malaysia, Africa, tropical America and tropical Australia, tropical birds have a much longer lifespan, apparently several times, than similar-sized species in temperate areas. It is thought that the absence in the tropics of winter, with its seasonal collapse especially of arthropod populations, is directly or indirectly responsible for this.

The 1960s and 1970s were the “Golden Years” of bird ringing in Malaysia and Singapore and much data on longevity of local birds were collected. Wells’ report of that year further mentions that over a 17 year period (1959-1975), 46 resident birds were known to have survived for at least 5 years. The record then was held by an Olive-winged Bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus) in Klang that was retrapped and released 157 months after it was first trapped and ringed!

On the topic of sunbirds, the 1974-1975 report mentions the retrapping of a Copper-throated Sunbird after 49 months and a Brown-throated Sunbird after 141 months! Will Sungei Buloh’s ringing programme break the record? Only time will tell, though much more importantly, the ringing programme will continue to amass a tremendous amount of truly vital data. Kudos to the dedicated team at our wetlands reserve!

Once again the Bird Ecology Study Group is participating in the ‘I and the Bird’ blog carnival designed specifically for bird lovers.

The carnival, the eleventh in the series, celebrating the theme “Where in the world?” is hosted by Clare Kines. Clare lives 900 km north of Iqalult in Arctic Bay, Canada, some 700 km north of the Arctic Circle. Our posting, Drunken Javan Mynas by Richard Hale attracted a “Don’t they know you can’t serve fermented fruits to mynas?” tongue-in-cheek comment from the host. Drunken mynas may be a novel thing in Singapore, but where the host is, Robins regularly got drunk on honeysuckle berries.

Click on the link and see what other birders are saying from around the world.

This incident occurred about noon some two to three years ago around an old longan tree (Dimocarpus longan). The tree was planted from seed 37 years ago and at that time the branches had been pruned and new shoots were sprouting, producing ‘bobs’ of new leaves. It was the favourite of seven to eight House Crows (Corvus splendens) that used it to rest after feeding.

The tree was growing between our house and my uncle’s who lived next door. He was gardening below the tree when he noticed a couple of crows circling above and calling loudly. Curious, he looked closely at the tree to find a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) resting on a branch, hidden by the one of the leaves bobs.

He called all of us out to see the owl. Naturally the bird ignored us as it was more concerned with the crows above. As long as my uncle was working below the tree, the crows kept their distance and the owl was left unmolested.

After a while, when my uncle finished his work and got further away from the tree, the crows came nearer to the tree, calling frequently. They did not land but I think their cries were too much for the resting owl. It took off soon after. It has not returned until today.

At present, the tree is no longer being used by crows. We have kept its branches pruned to the maximum and it is not as shady as before.

Contributed by Chew Ping Ting
Image of Barn Owl courtesy of Ashley Ng

This is a typical anti-predator behaviour and owls are popular targets, especially when caught resting during the daytime. Mobbing birds may include songbirds, crows, woodpeckers and those as small as hummingbirds. They make repeated dives as well as loud calls. They may or may not strike the predators. But cases have been known where owls were pecked on the eyes or the feathers. However, the owls are seldom hurt by these attacks and they seem to just ignore the mobbing birds, to eventually move away. It is possible that the mobbing birds know that it is safe to mob owls as these nocturnal birds are unable to attack the constantly moving mobbing birds.

Why birds mob predators? Probably to alert others of the presence of predator birds. Or to educate young birds on the identity of their enemies.

Comment by YC

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) we commonly see around is actually adapted to human habitation. It usually nests in any convenient holes in buildings. Then why is it called a tree sparrow? The colonial Britisher who named it was obviously familiar with it back home as a common woodland bird. It is the House Sparrow (P. domesticus) that is actually found around houses in Europe.

So we ended up with a Eurasian Tree Sparrow around houses and not trees in this part of the world. Once a common bird, it is now slowly being displaced by the more aggressive mynas and crows. Also, many of their traditional nesting areas are being “fenced” off or sealed. Their food sources are also being reduced as food leftover in open-air hawker areas is rapidly removed by efficient cleaners. And not to mention, more and more hawkers are being relocated to air-conditioned outlets where these birds have no access.

Also, in modern Singapore, we are seeing the proliferation of high-rise buildings. And these sparrows are not slow in adapting to modern-day living, as Jeffrey Low, a marine biologist, was quick to notice.

Around his Housing Board block in Toa Payoh, he has seen these sparrows nesting in the electrical trunking boxes. Jeffrey is actually happy to see this new trend, as he would like to see the return of more sparrows as opposed to mynas and crows. Don’t we all?

Is this a common thing for sparrows to do? And could this adaptation to nesting in man-made structures be the cause their increase? Or is their resurgence due to some other factor? These are the questions that came to him as he pondered the issue of tree sparrows moving into HDB high-rise buildings.

R. Subaraj, our Bird Specialist, adds that this species follows man wherever he goes, even up hill resorts in the Malaysian mountains. It is a scavenger of human leftover food and for many years was a common sight around open-air food centres and coffeeshops. They roost and nest in roof spaces, light fittings or any other space found in a building.

Although this sparrow is common and everyone takes it for granted, we know relatively little about it. So birders, as well as sometime-birders, please provide more feedback on it - like its nesting habit and behavioural traits.

Contributed by Jeffrey Low
Additional input by R. Subaraj