Sunbirds are among the most attractive birds around, especially the males. The females on the other hand are rather drab. The food of sunbirds is largely nectar, taken off a wide range of flowers, both native and exotic. In the case of exotic flowers, when the birds are not able to reach the extra long corolla tube, they tend to puncture the base of the corolla to obtain the nectar direct.

Most sunbirds have slender, curved bills whose tongues are long and just as slender, often projecting way out beyond the tip of the bill (see above). But have you ever wonder how these birds harvest the nectar from the flowers?

Well, the tongue of most sunbirds is a closed tube along the major part of its length. This tube is formed by the inward rolling of the edges to meet at the top, thus effectively giving the bird a straw with which to suck up the nectar. The tip of the tongue is usually split and bi-tubular.

Thus when the bird pokes its bill into the corolla tube of the flower and extends its tongue, the straw-like tip will automatically take up some of the nectar through capillary action.

Input and images of male Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis) (top) and male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) (bottom) by YC.

A Macrosolen cochinchinensis seed, when deposited on to the branch of a host plant by a bird, germinates by growing a green stalk with a disc-like tip. This stalk elongates, arching back to send its disc-like tip fusing into the stem of the host plant to become the haustorium. When the haustorium is firmly attached, the seed is lifted off, the seed coat shrivels and drops off to reveal the first pair of leaves, the cotyledons! The shoot then elongates, giving rise to further pairs of leaves.

Note: This plant is a tropical mistletoe, a semi-parasite that grows on the branches of many wayside trees and ornamental plants. Please see our earlier postings on the plants, seeds and germination and accounts by a naturalist and a sometime bird watcher.

Text and images by Angie Ng

On February 7th 2006, as we were conducting a recce trip at Sarimbun, Robert Teo, Robin and I came across a party of three Chestnut-bellied Malkohas (Phaenicophaeus sumatranus) in the secondary forest. The encounter was surprising enough as there are no prior records from this part of Singapore.

The Chestnut-bellied Malkoha is the last surviving species of malkoha in Singapore. The resident population is confined to the central nature reserves of Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment with the odd records from the fringe areas of Bukit Batok Nature Park, Bukit Tinggi and Upper Thomson Road. A record from Pulau Ubin by Robert Teo probably refers to a visitor from nearby Johor. In Malaysia, this species of malkoha resides in lowland rainforest, riverine forest, coastal forest and mangrove forest.

As there were three birds present at Sarimbun, it remains uncertain whether these birds are resident or merely visitors from the nearby coastal mangrove belt in Johor. The birds were fairly confiding, allowing close observation for 15 minutes or so, as they foraged in the middle and upper storeys of the trees around.

Suddenly, one bird flew down to the ground and was observed foraging on the ground, amongst the leaf litter. It made short hops as it searched for whatever was about without success. Soon, it hopped up to some low branches before flying up into the crown of the nearest tree. The malkoha is largely an insectivore and hunts for invertebrates among the branches of forest trees and bushes.

I do not recall seeing a malkoha (certainly not this species) foraging on the ground before, despite numerous encounters over the years, both here and in Malaysia. Has anyone witness this behaviour from a malkoha before?

Contributed by Subaraj Rajathurai.

This bird feeds mainly on locusts, mantids, stick insects, leaf insects, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, large hairy caterpillars and sometimes even frogs and lizards. It also eats fruits and seeds. The bird in the picture, courtesy of KC Tsang, has in its beak a katydid, a green long-horned grasshopper. YC

The Bird Ecology Study Group has set up a BESGroup FORUM for members to post topics, comments, etc. Viewers are welcome to join by clicking the link above or that in the white box on the lower right of the screen and simply register. By joining and actively participating, we hope to enhance the forum quality and participation. Only by sharing can we not only hope to increase our knowledge of the birds around us but also to expand our understanding of bird behaviour and ecology.

Most, if not nearly all of us, are not practising ornithologists. As amateur birders, we would have a superficial knowledge of the birds flying around. There would be some who can claim to be familiar with most of Singapore’s birds. Well and good. But to be able to ID the birds does not mean that we know them.

KC Tsang, a long time experienced birder, only yesterday posted to the group the now-famous quote of the American Physicist and Nobel Laureate, Richard Feynman (1918-1988):

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird… So let’s look at the bird and see what it’s doing - that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”

BESGroup hopes to strive to first know the name of the bird, then to actually get to know the bird. Only with the help of interested birders who report back their observations by posting in the forum, and ultimately in the blog, can we achieve our aim.

We posted the seemingly simple observation of Interspecific Interaction of Birds at Pasir Ris on 20th February 2006 by Lin Junying, a young birder. This attracted the attention of Mike, a seasoned American birder who runs 10,000 Birds to comment: “Very perceptive post! This really underscores the difference between looking at birds and really watching them.”

What more can we say?

I have a pair of slender-stemmed mengkudu (Morinda cirtifolia) growing by my gate along the driveway. The plant grows wild throughout Southeast Asia, having been introduced from Queensland, Australia a very long time ago. Now the Malay name is not as well known, replaced by the up-market name of noni. This is because some enterprising person decided that the fruits have all sorts of health-giving properties. And started marketing the juice as a health product.

The pair of 3-metres tall trees must have been brought there in the form of seeds by a bird. They are continuously flowering and fruiting profusely. The flowers are regularly visited by a variety of insects for their nectar. Flies and bees are always around. A few butterflies like the Palm Bob (Suastus gremius gremius) and Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona alcmeone) are regular visitors.

Daily one or more male Crimson Sunbirds (Aethopyga siparaja) visit the flowers for the nectar. I am sure there is also a female around but the male is so much prominent and attractive with his crimson colouration. They announce their presence by their high pitch chit, chit, chew sound they make. These smallish birds do not stay long at one spot for a proper photographic shot but move rapidly from flower to flower all the time. And before you know it they have departed for another plant elsewhere.

Sunbirds also visit just after rain. They come and have a series of quick baths using the droplets that collect on the surface of the large leaves, see Bathing Sunbirds.

The ripe fruits litter the ground below. I have been told that in Hawaii, dogs love these fruits, growing fat on them. I am sure our local dogs eat them also, if given the opportunity. So far, I have seen two species of birds relish these rancid smelling fruits. Pairs of Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) will approach the ripe fruit lying on the ground, take a quick peck and retreat before coming again for another beak-full. Yellow-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus goiavier) similarly eat the fruits, but only when the mynas are not around.

On 24th December 2005 I was surprised to see a pair of these bulbuls making a ritual of eating the fruit. The pair was dancing around the fruit lying on the ground, tails flapping up and down and at regular intervals taking pecks from the fruit. It is interesting to note that these ripe fruits are never totally eaten, three quarters would always be left behind.

It would be interesting to receive feedback on what other birds go for these fruits.

Text and images by YC. Steven Chong assisted in identifying the butterflies.