Our bird specialist R. Subaraj sent in this item after reading an earlier posting on Sentosa’s Buffy Fish Owl (above).

“Actually, while the Buffy Fish Owl (Ketupa ketupu) encounters are the first records for Sentosa and the Southern Islands, all the other four local resident owl species have been recorded for this island (below).

“Two species reside on Sentosa, with the Collared Scops Owl (Otus bakkamoena) being fairly common. The other resident, the Spotted Wood Owl (Strix seloputo), is rare with only one pair confirmed on the island.

“There are a couple of fairly recent records of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and it may still be resident. I have been told verbally that the species used to be commoner on Sentosa but most perished due to rat poisoning.

“The final species is the Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata). The resident sub-species, N.s.scutulata, is confined to and around the central nature reserves (Bukit Timah and Central Catchment) and Pulau Tekong Besar. Records from elsewhere in Singapore, including Sentosa, are of migrants from the north, probably of the subspecies N.s.japonica.

Regards, Subaraj”

Ilsa Sharp from Perth, Western Australia, adds: “I can confirm, as I’m sure Yeow Chin can too, that there were Barn Owls on Sentosa and that they died because of poisoning of the rats they ate - I remember well how we all #@*& the authorities for putting down the poison when they had been made well aware of the owls’ presence at the time! Must have been about early or mid-80s, do you think, Yeow Chin?”

Check out Owls in Singapore for a full list of species.

Input by R. Subaraj and Ilsa Sharp, image of owl by Chan Yoke Meng and of Sentosa by YC.

Allan Teo was with his fellow photographers in Changi on 3rd February 2007 when suddenly a juvenile White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) appeared in the sky chasing a Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) (above). Taken totally by surprise, yet he was ready with his equipment to record a few dramatic shots of this exciting aerial chase.

Although the eagle is a superior hunting machine, the graceful but cumbersome heron succeeded in out-maneuvering the raptor by zigzagging in the air to eventually dived into a patch of low growth and thus escaped the latter’s talons.

In Allan’s very own words: “The heron swept back its outer wing panels to reduce drag and increased airspeed (below). It allowed the White-bellied Sea Eagle to come in closer. Whenever the eagle extended its claws towards it, the heron always twisted and turned in the air, out flanking the eagle.

“The chase ended when the heron let the eagle come in close once again before it suddenly levelled out and dived into the bushes.”

The heron’s sudden crash among the vegetation disturbed the House Crows (Corvus splendens) that were foraging around the shrubs. These crows instinctively flew up and chased the eagle away. A lone Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) that was around, normally an enemy, allied itself with the crows and joined in the chase.

Input and images by Allan Teo.

As early as November 2006 Angie Ng reported a pair of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) checking out a cavity in an old, 22 m high damar hitam gajah (Shorea gibbosa) tree in Changi (left). This cavity probably resulted from faulty pruning of a side branch many years ago. The cut surface was healing but apparently not fast enough. The exposed wood rotted, resulting in this cavity high up on the side of the main trunk, about 3 m from the top.

On the evening of 7th February, Meng and Melinda Chan saw the male bird trying unsuccessfully to entice the female to the cavity by placing some food inside. When the female refused to fly over, the male retrieved the food and flew off to join his mate.

KC Tsang was over at Changi the following day when he saw the female trying to enter the cavity with difficulty. She was enlarging the cavity, doing most of the work (below left). But the male, who was bigger, did also contribute to the labour (below right). Most of the time he was flying off, collecting lumps of mud and bringing them back for the female who was beginning to seal herself up, a little inside the circular opening of the cavity.

This continued for the next two day. The male was still very active bringing mud to the female, sometimes swallowing the mud and then regurgitating it to the female. The female can sometimes be very fussy and rejected the mud by throwing it out of the nest. The mud that was regurgitated by the male seemed to be a bit on the wet side, maybe that was how he made the mud pieces softer. The mud was collected from the near by field (above).

Throughout this period the male was flying to and fro bringing food and lumps of mud for the female (left top). His arrival varied from once every 10-15 minutes to 20 minutes. All this time the female continued enlarging the cavity and at the same time continued sealing herself in. She was observed throwing out pieces of debris. And the male continued to bring materials for her to seal herself in.

Finally, the female was sealed in (left bottom).

Images by Chan Yoke Meng, KC Tsang, Chan Yoke Meng, Allan Teo and Chan Yoke Meng.

Bitterns, members of the Arfeidae, are medium-size to large birds, usually with long legs, necks and bills.

The bittern eyes are placed on the sides of the head, giving the bird a monocular vision. However, unlike most other birds, the eyes are found low on the sides. This has the advantage of allowing it to look for food below in its normal foraging posture with its head stretched and the body and neck parallel to the ground (above). This so-called “crouched” posture makes it more cryptic, besides having the bill closer to the intended victim. At the same time the position of the eyes allows it to see ahead.

The bird needs to move its head from side to side as well as back and forward to improve its binocular vision. These movements also help to compensate for refraction, as the prey is in the water.

When the bittern is alarmed, it stretches its head and neck up, pointing its bill to the sky. This gives the bird a slim silhouette, blending it with the surrounding vegetation, usually water weeds like grasses and sedges. This is commonly known as the “Bittern-stance” and the bird can maintain the posture for several hours (above:middle and right).

In this defensive posture, with its head pointing upwards, the position of the eyes allows it to have a clear vision of the sky above as well as in front.

The images of the Yellow (Ixobrychus sinensis) (above: left and middle) and Cinnamon Bitterns (I. cinnamomeus) (above: right) show the birds in both postures and the positions of the eyes.

The image of the Yellow Bittern on the left by Heng Fook Hai clearly shows the excellent camouflage of the bird among the reeds.

When Meng and Melinda Chan observed the Yellow Bittern and captured the images, the bird was alarmed and in a defensive posture. Suddenly it flew off, after which a large raptor was seen flying overhead.

Images by Chan Yoke Meng except bottom image by Heng Fook Hai.

Tan Choo Eng from Penang, Malaysia wrote in on 12th February 2007 after reading an earlier posting on an eagle attacking a kite’s nest. Choo Eng and a few friends spotted an eagle at the Permatang Pauh ricefields on 3rd February and was wondering whether it could be the same eagle. Thought the bird was a Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga), they also misidentified it earlier as a Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis). According to Choo Eng, the Singapore bird is a juvenile but the Penang bird looks like an adult. It needs a more experienced birder to settle the issue.

This is Choo Eng’s story: “On 3rd February 2007 around mid-noon while with another three birders from Kuala Lumpur, we spotted this big dark eagle perching around a just harvested rice field. We managed to observe and photograph it (above).

“It was being harassed by an unidentified raptor, probably a marsh harrier (right).

“On a subsequent visit I saw it swooping down and killing a rat with it’s talons (below).

“A pair of White Bellied Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) attempted to steal it’s rat but was scared away by the huge eagle.

“A single crow similarly attempted to steal it’s rat (below left).

“Later the eagle managed to swallow the rat after tearing it apart with its beak and talons (below right).

“The eagle will usually hunt during mid-afternoon and other raptors will attempt to harass it but to no avail. The Greater Spotted Eagle is a rather uncommon visitors to mainland Penang. Could the eagle from Singapore from the earlier post be the one at Permatang Pauh ricefields?”

This is an interesting question that is not easy to answer. We need someone to first settle the question of whether the eagle in the earlier post is the same species as this eagle. Then whether they are actually a juvenile and an adult. If not, then the intriguing question of whether they are the same bird can be debated.

Input and images by Tan Choo Eng.