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.

By the end of April the top portion of the rotting trunk at Eng Neo collapsed due to the continuous rainy weather (left). This meant that the cavities used by the various birds were there no more. The top portion of the trunk where the Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis) nested, was buried in the ground when it collapsed, probably trapping the nestlings. The Collared Kingfishers’ (Todiramphus chloris) nest, found lower down the trunk, was at the point of the break and not buried. A nestling was found at the base of the trunk, dead, while another was alive. Sreedharan Gopalsamy was there at this final chapter and gives his account:

“The Eng Neo area has been a favourite for birdwatchers and photographers in the month of April and early May due to the Hornbill sightings and the nesting of several species including the dollarbird and the collared kingfisher.

“On 30th April, I was over there photographing the Dollarbirds and their antics. When I moved over to the nesting tree I realised something was amiss. A huge chunk of the tree trunk had disappeared. Together with it, the nests of Dollarbird and Collared Kingfisher. The kingfisher parents appeared every 10 minutes searching for their nest to no avail. They kept going to the wrong “hole”. They could not comprehend why the juveniles could not be found.

“Later, a friend, Philip, and I decided to investigate further. Looking around, Philip spotted something bluish hopping amongst the tall grass. It turned out to be a very tired and disoriented juvenile Collared Kingfisher. I made a quick call to Ashley who, as it turned out, was at Ayer Keroh at that time. He suggested us taking it to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve or Jurong Bird Park and handing it over to them for subsequent nursing.

“A further look around and some calls later allowed us to figure out what had happened. All was fine on the 29th till late afternoon. The heavy rainstorm that night caused the large part of the trunk, just below the kingfisher’s nest, to break-off and plunge towards the ground. The falling part broke into several pieces upon impact. The top end was impaled into the ground. This was the Dollarbirds’ nest. Despite all our efforts, we could not budge the buried trunk and so any Dollarbird chicks would have been buried alive. After a look around, I located the broken stump with the kingfisher nest. As the nest was not covered, it allowed the poor shell-shocked juvenile to escape. Looking around the nest I found a dead sibling (of the juvenile) who had probably died some days previously but not from the impact.

“Philip decided to take the juvenile home and nurse it. He fed it with worms in the first couple of days and included little frogs in its diet subsequently. By 2nd May the juvenile could fly a few meters. On 3rd May, the juvenile was strong enough to fly off and start its new life on its own.”

Thanks Sree for the most interesting account of the final chapter of the Eng Neo saga. All images by Sree except top by YC.

Birds spend a large portion of their time preening. This involves fluffing its feathers and then using its bill to comb them. Preening aligns the barbs and barbules that make up the feather vane and ensures that they are properly interlocked. At the same time the bird applies a waxy oil that comes from the preen gland found at the base of the tail, spreading it all over the feathers. This oil, once thought to waterproof the feathers, is now believed to keep them from drying out and becoming brittle. The oil also deters feather parasites like bacteria, fungi, mites and lice.

Feather care is crucial to the bird. After all, feathers help to insulate it from the cold, waterproof it from the rain and ensure trouble-free flight.

When not foraging or indulging in other activities, a bird can be seen perching on a branch and carefully preening its feathers. The wing is stretched out and the head moves towards it to carefully preen the feathers. The tail is raised and the head turned back to attend to the tail feathers.

In areas where the bird cannot reach with its bill, like the top of the head and neck, it uses its foot to scratch. Sometimes it may indulge in mutual grooming, also known as allopreening. Besides having the hard-to-reach parts preened, allopreening strengthens bonding between the birds. It is commonly seen between sibling birds.

Other methods of feather maintenance includes anting, sunbathing and dust bathing.

Image of White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) (top) by Johnny Wee; those of Olive-backed Sunbird (Nectarinia jugularis) (bottom) by YC.

February must be the beginning of a new breeding season. In and around my garden, I can see birds busy collecting nesting materials.

The Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis) are arriving at the ceram palm to harvest palm frond fibres. They perch along the midrib of a leaflet, moving sideways towards the tip, pecking on the side of the leaflet to loosen a piece of fibre. The tips of these leaflets are usually frayed by the wind and pieces of fibres are exposed towards the tips. Just as suddenly as they arrive, these starlings suddenly fly off to their nests’ sites. After some time they return and make further collections.

The Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) (as well as the starlings), on the other hand, are collecting pieces of fresh golden penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) leaves. They peck the young leaves to break pieces and fly off with them. I am not sure what their nests look like but I must imagine that they are lined with fresh leaf pieces that eventually dry up. Our bird specialist, R. Subaraj, says that it is advantageous to harvest fresh leaves. Besides being pliable, the pieces last longer than if the bird starts with dead brown leaves. Sounds logical to me! Besides harvesting leaf pieces, they are picking palm fibres off the ground.

The Pink-necked Green Pigeons (Treron vernans) are back at the ceram palms, making courtship sounds and behaviour. A few males are collecting twigs from the mempat trees (Cratoxylum formosum) along the road, flying in and out as they start to build their nests.

The Yellow-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus goiavier) are similarly harvesting nesting materials. They have been at my Alexandra palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae), collecting old stems of the dragon scale fern (Pyrrosia piloselloised) to build their nest.

Then the Olive-backed Sunbirds (Nectarinia jugularis) are actively collecting spider’s web. They hover around where these webs are and peck off pieces to bring to their nest.

The above observations are only in my suburban garden. I am sure all over the island other species of birds are busy collecting nesting materials to construct their nests.

Yes, a new breeding season is beginning!

Our bird specialist, R. Subaraj has this to say: “Many bird species do indeed start breeding from Feb/Mar, though some start as early as Dec/Jan and others as late as Apr/May. Those starting in Feb/Mar may have two broods with the second season commencing around May/June, right after the first batch fledges. The breeding season seems to follow the migration timing and birds seem to choose the period of less competition from migrants as well as less predation from migrant hawks - Japanese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter gularis) and Chinese Goshawk (A. soloensis) are common between Oct-Feb and specialise on small birds.

Input by R. Subaraj and YC, images by YC

Dollarbirds can be very aggressive indeed, especially when their nests are being raided by other birds. This exciting drama was captured on ‘film’ by Chan Yoke Meng at the patch of secondary growth at Eng Neo recently.

Meng was there on 9th April 2006 waiting for the hornbills to appear when he suddenly saw a Long-tailed Parakeet (Psittacula longicauda) entering the nesting hole of the Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis). This pair of Dollarbirds had taken over the cavity from a pair of Long-tailed Parakeets earlier.

Th parakeet’s sudden entry into the nest caused panic among the pair of Dollarbirds that was around the dead tree. The latter were circling around and screeching when suddenly one flew straight into the nest. The parakeet was already inside the cavity but the Dollarbird pushed itself in, got hold of the former’s beak and literally dragged the parakeet out of the nest. The Dollarbird succeeded in expelling the intruder from the nest. Peace returned to the area.

For the next hour or so one of the Dollarbirds remained in the nest, its body blocking the entrance and one of its legs firmly placed on the rim. It was in defensive mode, ready to fly out and confront the parakeet should it attempt to make a further attack. The other Dollarbird stationed itself at the top of the trunk
Whether the parakeet did any damage to the occupants, either the eggs if the birds were still incubating or the nestlings if any had hatched, could not be ascertained. But the Dollarbirds were still seen flying regularly into the nest a week after, usually one entering the nest for some minutes while the other stood guard at the top of the rotting trunk.

Input and images by Chan Yoke Meng.

For R. Subaraj’s comments, see here.