An earlier posting about albino birds and the pair of juvenile albino Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) seen at the Visitors Centre of the Singapore Botanic Gardens around May-June 2006 got the attention of Serene Tang who e-mailed me saying that her friend actually had an image of the bird. Peter Cheong then generously sent in his image that it is now incorporated into the original blog posting.

And now, James Heng has written in with his encounter in Johor, Malaysia:
“Thanks for the good read on albino birds. About two years ago, I was at Parit Jawa and saw this solitary albino Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). The other few Collared Kingfishers would perch together and interact but whenever this albino flew over, the rest would quickly fly away.“It must have been very lonely. Wonder if it is still alive today?”

Thank you James, for this exciting note and the images. Image of the normal Collared Kingfisher is by Chan Yoke Meng.

Albino birds are rare but they do exist. This condition is the result of genetic mutation, whereby the pigment melanin is absent. And the absence of melanin means that the feathers are always white. In cases where some of the feathers are colored by a pigment other than melanin, areas of yellow or red are apparent.

Where all the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers, we have a totally albino bird. In this case the eyes, legs and bill will have a pinkish tinge as the colour of the blood shows through in the absence of the pigment in the tissues. But most albino birds we encounter are partial albino, where only some of the normal feathers are replaced by white feathers.

A totally albino bird is extremely rare in the wild. The conspicuousness of the all-white plumage and the weak eyesight make it an easy victims to predators. Also, the lack of pigments makes the feathers brittle. And such feathers often wear out before the next moult and the bird may not be able to fly well

An albino bird may have problems of being recognised by its prospective mate and thus will not be able to mate. Or it may not be recognised by others of its own kind and thus chased off from the group. There is a report of a pure albino female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) that was chased away repeatedly from the flock by its companions. It always returned to the flock to be chased again.Around May-June 2006 a pair of juvenile albino Javan Mynas (Acridotheres javanicus) was spotted around the Visitor Centre of the Singapore Botanic Gardens together with their parents. What happened to them subsequently is anybody’s guess.

Top image courtesy of Ashley Ng. Bottom image by Peter Cheong, obtained after Serene Tang read the blog and informed us about Peter’s encounter with the birds in the SGB. Thank you Serene and Peter.

The breeding season of Little Terns (Sterna albifrons) in Singapore starts from May to end in July. The first step involves pairing, after which courtship begins. Typical courtship behaviour involves the male bird bringing fish to his mate. How the birds forage for fish has been posted earlier.
Not all offer of fish by the male is accepted by the female of his choice. The female may turn her back as the male approaches with his gift but suddenly turn around to accept a gift from another male flying in. At the same time a male flying in with a fish in his beak may not offer it to an eager female but to another of his choice.

The offer of fish continues for some time before the pair actually bonds. After all, the female has to be convinced of the male’s ability to provide for her and her brood during the period of egg incubation and after. The pair may fly off together whereby the male catches the fish. Both then fly back to land where the male offers it to the female. Immediately after handing over the fish to the female, the male cocks his head high and make a loud cry, as if in triumph.

During this period of courtship feeding there are always other birds ready to zoom in for a free meal. Piracy is rampant during this period and a courting male has to be extra vigilant least his gift ends in the beak of another male.

Observations were made by Meng and Melinda Chan in 2005. All images by them.

Philip Tang has been stalking the elusive Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii) for the second year now. His mission is to record the nesting behaviour of this beautiful tiny bird. Originally designated locally as a rare resident, the bird is now considered by our bird specialist R. Subaraj, as an uncommon resident, but vulnerable, because of the transient nature of its habitat. That it is not so rare has been confirmed by Philip who managed to locate a breeding pair during each of his two years of study.
[The image above shows the male bird in the nest incubating the two eggs while that below shows the bird with the two eggs in the nest]
According to Philip: “The Malaysian Plover is found on sandy beaches, usually in remote areas with little human activity. They feed close to the water’s edge, usually in pairs. The nest is just a simple depression on the ground, which is usually further up from the beach area. The two nests from both 2005 & 2006 were found in the oddest area, by the dirt road. The nest is usually very well hidden, away from views of predators. By using a vehicle as a hide and with lots of patience, I was able to spot (with lots of luck) the pair roosting and feeding near their nest. Spotting a nest with eggs or chicks among the grass and sand can really put a strain on your eyes. [Above image shows the female bird with the first-hatched chick and the unhatched egg; the two below, without the parent bird]“These birds nest on sandy grounds very close to vehicle tracks within the area. There are lots of wild dogs and raptors around. Human activities are plentiful with the ramp up of construction there. For my first sighting, I once almost stepped onto a nest with two eggs, so perfect was the camouflage. From then on, I walked with utmost care. Similarly, eggs and newborn chicks blend in very well with the surroundings. [Above, nest with two eggs, note that the the chick is pecking out from the egg on the right. Below, male bird with chick under her wing]“It takes me quite a while to be able to spot them each time I return to the area.

“The parents (especially the female) will always move around the nesting area, bringing the chick(s) along, by calling out for them. When the parents sense any danger/threat, they will show the broken wing routine to distract the predator away, and the chick will receive a signal to lie low and stay very still without moving, until the parents call out for them when there is no more danger. I have spent many times looking for them once I lost focus when they moved into the grass area.

“One of the parents will also fly around and away from the nesting/chick so as to lure the predator away as far as possible.”

Input and images by Philip Tang. Part 1 on the birds can be viewed here.

“Deep in a fruit orchard at the foothill of Bukit Mertajam, next to Berapit village and opposite the Mengkuang Dam, stands a 4-storey tall tree-stump of great prominence to a variety of bird species. I counted a minimum of 20 cavities bored by birds along the length of the trunk. What caught my attention was the pecking order in which these bird species behaved and practiced the art of warfare.

“Several Common Mynas (Acridotheres trisitis) and Crested Mynas (Acridotheres cristatellus) appear to be custodians of the tree stump, perching and performing random inspections of these cavities with ease and helping themselves to grubs.

“A seemingly pair of resident Black-thighed Falconets (Microbierax fringillarius), at times with juvenile takes up position at the top, hollow edge of the stump – I suspect it to be their old nest. They are never far away and often would circle around the orchard area. When all is ‘clear’ they would return to perch discreetly a little distant away from the mynas.
“The Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis) is usually seen perched quietly and solitary on dead tree tops and occasionally in pairs during the breeding season in February-June. On this morning of 18 February 2006, they made their presence felt and decided to stake a claim of the stump only to be harassed and chased off by the mynas. Dollarbirds are known to nest in old tree-holes made by woodpeckers or barbets.

“Their loud, hoarse and sharp rasping screeches summoned the third and fourth Dollarbird as they took to their wings with mynas aggressively trailing them. The gang of four Dollarbirds regrouped and boldly perched on the stump as though to drum up a strategy of attack. The noisy aerial assault soon began and this time the mynas were seen to ‘come under attack’.

“Another Malaysian Nature Society birder was with me. We were both surprised to witness this unusual display of aggression by Dollarbirds, known to us as placid birds.

“The aerial assault lasted about 5 minutes. It came to an abrupt halt upon the arrival of the Gold-whiskered barbets (Megalaima chrysopogon) - the ‘condominium’ owners of the stump. The Dollarbirds took to perch on nearby fruit trees, the Black-thighed Falconets were nowhere to be seen and the mynas resumed sentry positions on the stump.

“The ‘big boys’ are back!

“The Gold whiskered-barbet flew in and disappeared into one of the cavities. A couple of minutes later, the head was seen peeping from it. It then flew off only to see another Gold- whiskered barbet appeared with grub in its beak.

“This sighting was documented on 18 February 2006 at 1030 hours under good weather conditions. Location: Berapit foothills Bukit Mertajam Penang Malaysia.”

Postscript: The durian tree (Durio zibethinus) stump crashed to the ground as the result of a thunder storm in April 2006 (left).

Submitted by DAISY O’NEILL (Avian Writer), Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia.