How do birds deal with wastes generated by their nestlings? Those of the Peaceful Dove (Geopelia striata) seen on the left obviously do not practice sanitary hygiene, soiling their nest with their faeces.

Some parent birds actually eat the faeces during the first few days after the nestlings hatch. At this early stage, the droppings are rich in partially digested food as their intestines lack the necessary bacteria for complete digestion.

As the nestlings grow older and the bacteria set in, the faeces need to be disposed of. Many nestlings simply turn around, point their posteriors away from the nest and fire away. Depending on the aim, they may keep the nest clean or end up fouling it.

Others dispose of their waste via faecal sacs. These sacs are made of strong mucous that the parent birds can easily pick and dispose of some distance from the nest. Robins and bluebirds have been reported to fly off and drop the sacs some distance away. Grackles almost always drop faecal sacs over water but when they nest in backyards where there are no rivers or streams nearby, they tend to drop them in swimming pools.

A recent study in Georgia, USA found that Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) places these sacs on electric wires, wooden fence posts, tree branches and even on top of a utility pole. Why? To reduce the chance of predators locating the nests through visual or chemical evidence.
Local birders have always been aware that certain species of birds dispose of the nestlings’ wastes via faecal sacs. The image above shows a female Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) removing a faecal sac full of mistletoe seeds from a nestling. We take for granted that these sacs are disposed of some distance from the nests. But we should keep a look out on exactly where these sacs are disposed.

In November 2004, Tang Hung Bun observed an off-season nesting by a pair of Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers. He videoed the feeding and removal of the faecal sac which was extra large. This large sac contained green, undigested mistletoe seeds.

Input by YC, images by YC (top, middle) and Tang Hung Bun (bottom).

Link to video provided by Tang here and another videoed by Prof Ng Soon Chye here.

On 16th September 2006 we posted an account of the attack by a small flock of Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis) on an open Dollarbirds’ (Eurystomus orientalis) nest in Lim Chu Kang. Unfortunately the account was not accompanied by images. The photographer has since found and forwarded these images to me. Captured on film, the attack of the starlings and the panic defense of the dollarbird pair make for awsome viewing.6.38 pm: One of the Dollarbirds was by the nesting hole while its mate was on a branch nearby. The former noticed the arrival of the starlings and gave alarm. 6.39 pm: The bird on the nearby branch immediately flew to join its mate by the nesting hole.6.39 pm: Both birds were aggressively defending their nest, screaming loudly. One starling approached…
6.39 pm: Then there were two starlings…
6.40 pm: One of the Dollarbirds lunged an attack…
6.40 pm: …to chase off the arriving starlings.

The second Dollarbird joined in the attack. The nesting hole was left undefended. The rest, as they say, is history…

Thanks Meng and Melinda Chan for making available these dramatic images.

Seeing a kingfisher fishes for its meal in swift, precision manoeuvre is always a joy nature provides. Witnessing a ruthless kill of the catch by whacking the fish to death against a thick branch beside which the bird perched, sent me speechless. Having that one rare opportunity to digiscope a Stork-billed Kingfisher (Halcyon capensis) trying to swallow a catch bigger than his head, sent tremors to my fingers as I nervously raced against time to capture this gorgeous and disproportionately colourful bird framed in that moment of time - time that stood still… just for me.The Stork-billed Kingfisher belongs to the family of Alcedinidae and is one of the 86 species in the world under the sub-family description of Halcyon. The word ‘HALCYON’ is derived from Greek mythology. How it was given this name is told in the following and interesting ‘Romeo & Juliet Grecian-style legend. ‘Halcyone’, once Goddess of the Winds married a Trachisan king called Ceyx. Soon after their marriage, the king drowned in a stormy sea. The grieving queen having learnt of his death in her dream was overwhelmed with sorrow and took her own life by jumping into the sea close to where King Ceyx’s ship was wrecked. The Gods felt sorry and took pity on Halcyone and resurrected Ceyx, changing the King and Queen into kingfishers so they may live happily together, always close to the element of water. It was also promised by the Gods that when Halcyone and her descendants were hatching eggs in their nests, which were to be lined with fish bones floating on the tide, the winds would be stilled and the waters calmed.

It was also promised by the Gods that the seven days before the shortest day of the year in December was the time to build their nests and the seven days afterwards to hatch the eggs. Keeping in mind that the legend came from Greece, the Mediterranean Sea is usually calmer during the shortest days of the year. This ties in with the old stories, hence the term ‘halcyon days’ refers to a period of contentment and calm.

It would also be interesting to research the Chinese Almanac to determine when the shortest day would be for those who aspire to search for nesting sites of the Stork-billed Kingfishers in Asia. Should you come across a nesting site - a hole lined with discarded fish bones, you should know that it belongs to the Halcyon subfamily of kingfishers, one that lives on fish provided as promised by their mythological Gods.

If you see and photograph a nesting site of the Stork-billed Kingfisher and be unseen, one has to be born under a lucky star.

Submitted by: DAISY O’NEILL (Avian Writer), PENANG, MALAYSIA. All images by Daisy.

Allan Teo was at his friends’ farm in Kahang, Malaysia, recently when he noticed an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying towards the fish pond. The pond had more than 1,000 fish and was the territory of the White-bellied Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster). Such a rich fishing ground was too tempting for the Osprey but the sea eagle were not about to allow an intruding Osprey fish there.The Osprey started fishing and two eagles immediately gave chase. This did not deter the Osprey. It eventually caught a fish even though it was harassed by the two eagles. Not satisfied, the eagles chased the Osprey for more than a kilometer until it was out of sight.

As Allan noted: “When I returned to examine my photos, I noted this perfect mirror image shot that I did not notice in the field.

“I was told that raptors do not do ‘loops’ in the sky. However this photo shows that to be not true. Again the camera captures what the eye cannot see. Even when one-meter wingspan birds are fighting over your head.

“So the Osprey can fish while being harassed. I was glad this happened as it allowed extended camera opportunities.”

Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has this to say: “The White-bellied Sea Eagle featured is not a full adult. Ospreys are not residents but visitors to our shores. Confrontations between competitors for fish are not as rare as we think and more observations should produce more stories of such encounters.

“I remember back in the late 1980s watching a White-bellied Sea Eagle continually harassing an Osprey carrying a fish over Kranji Reservoir until it dropped its prey, which was then taken by the eagle. This is almost a form of kleptoparatism, like what frigatebirds and skuas normally indulge in.

“As for the aerial acrobatics, raptors often lock talons in mid-flight during courtship displays, with one upside down like in the photo. They can also invert themselves during territorial battles or when fending off harassment from pests like crows. Excellent photos though!”

Account and images by Allan Teo, September 2006. Osprey on the right (top image), left (centre image) and top (bottom image).

Like all bee-eaters, the Blue-throated (Merops viridis) is an earth-hole nester. It excavates a tunnel in the sandy ground, often from a slight incline, but also on flat lawns. The one metre or more tunnel enters the ground at a shallow angle, ending in an egg-chamber. And seldom does the bird reuses it the next year. The sharp, hooked claws and long tail of the bird adapt it well to perching on vertical banks. From this position it excavates its burrow, using its bill to stab at the compacted soil and its powerful claws to dislodge the loosened earth. As the cavity deepens, the bird clears the loosened earth by using both legs, supporting itself on its ‘wrists’ and bill tip. Invariable a small heap of soil forms in front of the nest hole entrance

These strong fliers are mostly long distance migrants and have complete mastery of the air. They are accomplished aerial hunters with their wheeling and gliding flight on long, pointed wings, and with twists and turns in the chase or slow pursuit.
Although the bird spends most of its time in the air, it comes to the ground for short periods to preen and to sunbath. It lies spread-eagled on the ground with its wings fully extended and tail feathers fanned. At the same time it pants to cool itself.

Input and images by Joe Yao,