Yes, birds do sleep. Like all warm-blooded animals, they sleep when they are tired and full of food. After all, most birds cannot see well at night. Only a few, like the owls, have large eyes specially adapted for night vision. When they sleep their toes automatically lock tight, thus preventing them from falling while asleep. The above image of the Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) snug in its nest, was taken by Cheong Weng Chun at night. Although it shows the back view, I am sure the bird was fast asleep. Many species like mynas, crows, starlings, Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica) and Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) (above) come together in the evening before dusk to roost on the branches of certain trees. During this period they generate much noise as they squabble over their favourite perch before settling down for the night. Although asleep, these birds are alert and will suddenly move off amidst much noise if disturbed. Early next morning, just before dawn, they wake up, yawn, stretch, refreshed but hungry. Then off they fly to forage.

Hole nesters like woodpeckers usually sleep in tree cavities. Ground nesters sleep on or near the ground.

Obviously nocturnal birds like owls and nightjars sleep during the day.

And many birds “talk” in their sleep and some even sing on moonlit nights.

Input by YC, image above by Cheong Weng Chun, below by YC.

In October 2006 Meng and Melinda Chan chanced upon a Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) snatching a whitish cocoon from the branch of a tree (above). The thick, tough silken covering that made up the cocoon was a challenge to the bird (below). Gripping the cocoon in its bill, the bird furiously rubbed it against a branch in an effort to remove the silk covering (below). In less than three minutes it succeeded in removing most of the cocoon silk to get at the succulent pupa inside (bleow). In a flash it swallowed the defenceless pupa. Satisfied with its meal, the bird gave a short call (below). Many moths and a few butterflies weave a cocoon of silk, inside which the caterpillar pupates. These cocoons are thick and tough or they can consist of a few strands of silk that keep the pupa from falling, or hold materials together to form a shelter.

Cocoons may be formed from substrate materials held together by silk. Some are so tough that they need a special escape lid woven to the end for the emergence of the adult, like the silkworm. The cocoon of the Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) (above) is a good example of how tough the silken cover is. The image below shows the longi-section of the cocoon with the remains of the pupa after the moth had emerged.
Khew Sin Khoon, who operates the website Butterflies of Singapore (http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2382/index.html), agrees that the cocoon is most probably that of a lepidoptera. He believes that it is probably that of a moth rather than that of a butterfly. Why? Because there is too much silk and “the fuzzy stuff” to be that of a butterfly.

Input by Melinda Chan, images of oriole by Chan Yoke Meng and those of the Atlas Moth cocoon by YC.

The kookaburras are the largest members of the kingfisher family and they are heard as much as they are seen. The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is well known for its loud crackling laugh, usually heard at dawn and dusk. At other times during the day, sudden outbursts may occur when the bird succeeds in capturing a prey.

The bird that Gloria Seow saw in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia in September 2005 did just that. Despite having a field mouse clamped tightly between the mandibles, the bird was making its infamous laugh.
The bird usually perches for long periods on a branch or tree stump keeping both eyes open for any possible prey. Once it spots one, it pounces on it to take it in its bill. Small items are swallowed whole while large prey are beaten against the ground or taken back to the perch where it is first bashed against a branch before swallowing. It takes frogs, lizards, snakes, insects, snails and even small birds and their eggs.

Generally these birds are tame and allow one to come quite near. Thus Gloria was able to come pretty close to take the picture above using a x6 zoom camera.

The bird was perching on an eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus sp.), also known as a gum tree. Thus Gloria actually saw the kookaburra “sitting on an old gum tree” alright. And heard it laughing.

Input and image by Gloria Seow.

The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird of wetlands. It is easily recognised from its red bill and prominent shield against a blackish plumage (above). The juvenile is dark brown and pale below, with an olive bill and without the prominent shield (below). Allan Teo recently spent over three hours in a rice field in Malaysia observing a family of Common Moorhens. Enclosed within his cameo sheet hide and comfortably seated on his field chair, he set up his equipment and waited patiently for the family to reappear. His camera was directed at the exact spot where the birds were earlier foraging, but went into hiding among the rice plants when he appeared. The birds benefitted from the limited shelter provided by the rice plants but the shelter was not dense to totally cover them up. The birds were shy and skittish, moving between the narrow spaces where the plants were sparse and swimming in small pools where the plants were absent or trampled (above).

The parents were always on the lookout for danger, especially from the many raptors that roamed the sky above. Besides, there were also other predators among the paddy.

As Allan recounts, “It took about 20 minutes from my arrival and installation of the hide before the parent birds reappeared. They cautiously emerged from between the rice plants. They swam around in the pool of water for 5-10 minutes before they called for the chicks to come out from among the rice plants.”
All the time the chicks stayed hidden among the tall rice plants, staying very still. They were not visible at all. Cautiously, they emerged, entering the water only when the parents coaxed them (above). Every 10-15 minutes the chicks would touch beaks with the parents, probably for re-assurance. Then suddenly from above, there appeared a black kite with its head looking downwards at its flight path (above). It must have spotted the moorhens. Immediately the family scrambled for cover and disappeared form sight. Large migratory raptors like Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) and Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) can easily take an adult moorhen. In the above image, the former is clutching a bird in its talons with the latter trying to snatch it or to make it drop its prey. There were also White-bellied Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) above, patrolling the area over the rice fields the year round. These birds have sharp eyes and can easily spot the moorhens.

When the coast was clear, the cycle repeated itself - the parents came out alone, tested the waters after which they called the chicks out to the water and performed the re-assurance ritual of touching beaks.
Moorhen chicks are precocial, meaning that they hatch in a relatively developed state, with the body covered with down and the eyes open (above). They leave the nest soon after hatching, usually after one to two days, swimming by the third and diving by the eighth. Both parents feed and care for the chicks. Immature birds of the previous brood as well as adults of the group may also chip in. Brooding may continue until about 14 days. The chicks can feed by themselves around 21-25 days but continue to be fed for up to 45 days. They fledge at 45-50 days.

The chick above is one of four from a family of the moorhen Allan spotted. There were at least three families in all.

Around the end of October 2006 Cheong Weng Chun also encountered Common Moorhens in the paddy fields of Malacca, Malaysia (below). The parent birds were feeding the chicks with apple snails that were collected from the shallow areas. Only small snails were selected, the larger ones were not taken. Weng Chun thinks that the shell of the smaller snails is probably softer than that of the bigger ones.

Input by Allan Teo and Cheong Weng Chun. Images by Weng Chun (top two and bottom) and Allan (the rest).

Dollarbirds (Eurystomus orientalis) are hole nesters. They do not excavate their own nests but make use of old nests made by woodpeckers and barbets. The nests can be in a dead tree or tree trunk or in living trees but the nest seen by Jonathan Cheah in late April and early May 2006 was the rotting top of a palm stem, probably a nibong (Oncosperma sp.).

The nest is usually unlined and the bird lays a clutch of two white eggs, although in this case only one chick developed. Both parent birds helped in the feeding of the chick. What they brought were mainly insects, high protein food.

As rollers generally eject pellets of the undigested insects that they ate earlier, it would be interesting for future observers to note whether the chicks also cast pellets.

Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has added that Dollarbirds commonly nest at the top of rotting coconut trunks.