I was out photographing the nesting of a pair of Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) when I noticed localised movements in the backgtound. On closer look, I saw a bluish bird hovering vertically below some branches, like a ballerina doing an en pointe, but in the air. It was just an unusual manouvering of a Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), doing what, I had absolutely no idea.

It was after some attempts that the bird finally achieved what it set out to do. And that was to get at a large and succulent caterpillar that was sitting quietly on a branch of the tembusu tree (Fagraea fragrans). The bird then perched on a nearby branch and began to bash the caterpillar against its perch, possibly to remove its head and empty its stomach contents.

When the bird was on its perch with the caterpiller between its beak, things became obvious. But only after I processed the images that were captured in the field did I notice more details. The images above clearly show that the bird had a caterpillar firmly between its beak. The next question was to ID the caterpillar. To which moth or butterfly does it belong to?

Again an image helped solved this question. There were various suggestions when an image of the caterpillar between the beak of the kingfisher was posted on the BESGroup and other e-loops. A few suggested that it was a hawkmoth caterpillar, and indeed it was. Leong Tzi Ming finally identified it as the caterpillar of Psilogramma menephron (Family Sphingidae), the Privet Hawk Moth. The green caterpillar with white diagonal stripes is commonly known as hornworm because of the presence of a horn at the end of its tail. It is among the largest of caterpillars, growing to a length of 8-12 cm. Without the image, the kingfisher will be recorded as catching a big fat caterpillar!

Thanks to Leong Tzi Ming for the ID and to KC Tsang, Jacqueline Lau, Robert Teo, Steven Chong, Margie Hall, Vilma d’Rozario and others for their input. Images are by YC.

While visiting the Hobart Botanical Gardens, Tasmania in Dec 2005, Teo Lee Wei and family “came across a pair of birds about the size of crows. They were running and flying very low, calling in distress and visibly stressed. Their antics seemed like some distracting ploy. Then we noticed five little chicks running helter-skelter in all directions but generally towards the parent birds.

“We managed to get near two little chicks and when we were within a metre of them they promptly sat down. Managed to snap the picture of one that was very well camouflaged. All the while the parent birds kept up their high-energy and high-decibel antics. When we moved a little away from the chicks, the two got up and ran towards the parents.
“Throughout the two hours we were there the same thing happened without a break.

“When we returned the gardens the following day, we witnessed the same thing. We wondered why the parents chose a well-walked area to raise their brood when there were so many quiet corners in the huge garden grounds.

“When we visited Grindewald (Swiss Village) near Launceston we saw many of these birds near the roadside. The coach driver said they are Australian road runners. We did not see any little chicks running around or their antics.

“The episode reminds me of my own antics while raising my son. Humans share a lot of genes with birds I understand. Maybe I’m bird-brain wired and so can empathise with them.”

Note: The bird is actually a Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles). They are very noisy, making a loud ‘kekekekekek’ call. The nest is a scrape in the ground, lined with grass and small twigs or unlined. The nestlings quit the nest within a few hours of hatching, to be led away by the parents to shelter. They are defended vigorously, the parent birds diving at intruders with a daunting screaming chatter.

Text and images by Lee Wei.

K.C. Tsang, an avid birder and photographer, was walking along a grassy area in Ponggol when a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) (also known as White-bellied Fish-Eagle), decided to check on him. In KC’s very words: “From high above it swooped down. Lucky for me I noticed what the fellow was doing, pointed the camera at it, it did an air-braking action, its talons already extended.”

KC did manage to get one dramatic shot of the bird as it was coming at him, as shown here, uncropped! I suppose it was worth the excitement and the risk of losing his baseball cap. But was the bird aiming for his cap? Was it hoping for a bigger catch?

After being frightened off, the bird circled KC a few times as he kept walking, his heart no doubt pounding. KC had more chances to make some more close shots, but I suppose the excitement of losing his cap and all caused him to get only blurred and over-exposed images. His D50 Camera did not react fast enough “Or maybe I should have lifted my finger off the trigger to let camera readjust itself.

Daisy, a Malaysian birder, wrote: “Obviously, this juvenile can’t tell the difference between a mouse and a human being wearing a baseball cap. I’ve been told raptors have been known to swoop at humans and cause scarring injuries. You are lucky! (Next time walk wearing a helmet). And what a flying shot you got there.”

Read about other attacks by House Crows: 1 and 2.

Thanks, KC for the exciting account and use of the image; and Daisy for the comment.

A few months back Jeremy Lee wrote: “I was in Perth in 2001 when I though it might be a good idea to find out how I could legally bring back a pet Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) to Singapore. There were plenty of birds to adopt from those animal refuge centres. However, the paperwork was daunting, besides this bird is in the CITES species list.

“I think this bird should be more correctly taken out of the CITES list and put on the banned potential immigrant list

“At that point in time, I was wondering how could this bird be endangered when there were so many in Australia? They were even nesting in downtown palms!

“The New Zealanders have been trying to get rid of them. As an alien species the bird is creating havoc to the local species.

“If it is as tough a species as I take it to be, once a breeding colony is established in Singapore from birds escaping from the pet trade (or owners giving them up because of their messy feeding habits), in ten years time I may be seeing Rainbow Lorikeets flying around instead of Red-breasted (Psittacula alexandri) or Long-tailed Parakeets (Psittacula longicauda).”

Robert Teo agrees that this bird can be a problem, just like the Red-breasted Parakeet (top left) that is displacing our native Long-tailed Parakeet (top right). Similarly, Lim Jun Ying feels that much as immigrant birds may be better suited to their new environment, they do not belong. He cites the example of the Brown Tree Snake that was accidentally introduced into Guam. Within a few years, it drove eight out of the 11 or 12 endemic bird species to extinction.

KC Tsang thinks otherwise: “Birds like the Rainbow Lorikeet should not be considered a pest as it is behaving in ways that nature has destined it to do, and to survive as best as it can… But I cannot say this for crows, as they are true pests by any human definition.”

Our bird specialist, R. Subaraj has the final word: “Rainbow Lorikeets has been flying free for some years now. Besides the regular birds at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, they have also been recorded from a few other places such as Loyang, Upper Thomson and Pasir Laba.

“However, despite being around for some time now, they seem to have difficulty establishing themselves in Singapore. And it was not until last year that we actually have a reportedly successful breeding record. The previous nesting failed, due to predation by a monitor lizard. We are still monitoring the situation. However, there is no cause for alarm just yet.

“Besides Rainbows, other lory species have also been recorded free flying here, including at least a couple of species from the Red Lory complex of Indonesia.

In a country such as Singapore, where bird trade is a staple business, escapees are prevalent and diverse. For decades we have been concerned about the Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) and the House Crow (Corvus splendens) feral populations. A few new introductions are beginning to take over parts of Singapore but the authorities are not too concerned as they have yet to become pests to humans.”

Thanks to Jeremy Lee, Robert Teo, KC Tsang, Lim Jun Ying and R Subaraj for their input. Images of Rainbow Lorikeet perching on a branch of the Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) tree (top) in Singapore, Red-breasted (bottom left) and Long-tailed Parakeets (bottom right) by YC.

While holidaying in Pangkor Island, Malaysia in May 2005, Susan Wong caught sight of an Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) with a deformed bill. With such an unusual bill, the bird obviously would have problems feeding. Yet, considering its size, it would appear that it had not fared badly. Still, Susan wondered how the bird picked up its food.

I am not sure whether there are any earlier reports of birds with deformed bills coming from Malaysia and Singapore. However, there are dozens of observations by birders in the United States on beak deformities in chickadees (Parus spp.). Most of these come from feeder-watchers, people who set up bird feeders in their gardens to attract birds.

In most deformities the upper and lower mandibles are longer than usual, with the upper longer and decurved.

Scientists are still not sure what causes these deformities. One theory is that food may be a factor. The hardness of the food a bird eats can regulate bill growth. This is because bills, like fingernails, are soft structures that grow at a constant rate. Thus the harder the food, the more wear and tear the bill undergoes. And regular bill use keeps bill growth in check. Other than diet, injury, diseases, and parasites can affect bill growth.

It would be interesting if other birders visiting Pangkor Island can make observations on the feeding habits of this particular hornbill.

R. Subaraj, our bird specialist, reports that several years ago, he observed a Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus), a shorebird with upturned bill, with a deformed, downcurved bill, in Punggol (Sungei Serangoon). This same bird turned up at the same spot for two winters, indicating that the bird had learnt to cope with its handicap and feed sufficiently well to not only survive for at least a year, but also managed to undertake at least two autumn migrations (south) and one spring migration (north).

Thank you Susan, for this rare image and note.

You can get more information on bill deformities at this web site.