On 10th March 2008, Choo Teik Ju was disturbed to find a dead heron dangling from the branch of a tree in the Marsh Garden at West Coast Park (left). One of its wings was entangled by a discarded fishing line, no doubt left by an irresponsible amateur angler.

Teik Ju visits the park almost every weekend to jog and bird watch. Invariably he found the areas around the Marsh Garden littered with discarded fishing lines. Many were dangling from the branches of trees and these obviously pose a danger to the wildlife there.

According to Teik Ju, “The Marsh Garden is home to Lesser Whistling-duck, Common Moorhen,
 White-breasted Waterhen, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Chinese Pond Heron, Cinnamon
 Bittern, Common Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher, Great Egret,
 Black-crowned Night Heron, Grey Heron, Owls and Eagles.”


He contacted the National Parks Board and was informed that the park is regularly patrolled by rangers. He was also informed that fishing is disallowed in the Marsh Garden.

Anglers need to be told that they should not leave fishing lines indiscriminately around and that such irresponsible behaviour is tantamount to littering.

Besides, it is illegal to fish in the Marsh Garden.

The food of the Gold-whiskered Barbet (Megalaima chrysopogon) has been reported to be largely fruits like figs and berries (Short & Horne, 2002; Wells, 1999). The bird has also been reported to take insects like termites. Cicada as a food is not well known, that is, until now (above).

On the evening of 5th March 2008, Dr Redzlan Abdul Rahman documented a Gold-whiskered Barbet catching a cicada. His neighbourhood in Raub, in the Peninsular Malaysian state of Pahang, is an area rich in bird life. He need not leave his home to document bird behaviour. For the last few years the birds visited and provided him with numerous photo opportunities.

When he noticed a Gold-whiskered Barbet perched on a branch outside his home, all he had to do was rushed indoors for his camera, point at the barbet and made the necessary shots. His series of images shown here showcase the stages of subduing this large insect prior to eating it.

Once clamped firmly in its bill, the barbet swiped the cicada many times against the tree branch in an effort to kill it (above: top l-r, bottom l-r). It was quite an effort. The tough, large wings of the insect did not break as a result of the bashing.

And once subdued, the barbet tried to swallow the cicada. The insect was a little too large for the bird and the latter had difficulties trying to swallow it (below). In manipulating the cicada further, the bird nearly lost its hold on the insect. Realising its problems, the barbet flew off with its prize to either feast elsewhere, to offer it to its mate or even to feed its chicks. The entire episode lasted less than a minute.

Cicadas are rather large insects that make their presence heard only when they sing their high-pitch mating song. This song is made only by the males, the females remaining silent all the time. Even with this high pitch buzz, it is not always easy to spot the insects as they stop singing when approached.

The loud group singing of cicadas can deter birds, as it is said to hurt the birds’ ears and thus interfere with their communication.

Dr Redzlan’s neighbourhood obviously attracts plenty of cicadas. The presence of these insects, in turn, attract different species of birds. He posted an earlier account of a Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) catching a cicada.

References:
1. Short, L. L. & Horne, J. F. M. (2002). Family Capitonidae (Barbets). Pp. 140-219 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona: Lynx Editions.
2. Wells, D.R. (1999). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London.

Our earlier post on “An eagle called on the Director, SBG” had a comment by Morten Strange: “What is absolutely weird in this case is that the window broke, I cannot
 recall another case like this, the impact must have been tremendous! It is a
 wonder the bird didn’t get fatally injured,”



Eddie Chapman, who runs Birding Scandinavia from Voss, Norway, has this to say on Morten’s comment: “I used to work in the glass industry many years ago. One of my jobs was 
replacing broken windows. On at least four occasions that I can remember, I 
was called out to do repair work where birds of prey had hit the window and
 broke it. These were usually Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) or Northern Goshawk ((A. gentilis)). Not
 once did I find a dead bird of prey under the broken window, and on two occasions, I was told by the house owner, that the birds of prey were trying
 to catch smaller birds and crashed into the glass while doing so.
”

Wang Luan Keng wrote: “I once had a Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) hit the window of the lab in the National Institute of Education. It was a very loud knock but the window did not break. We went out and found the bittern on the ground, almost dead and the bill had a bent tip!

“Another time, a bunch of crows were chasing a female Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The koel eventually knocked into the trunk of a tree and fell. When it was brought to me, blood was oozing out of its mouth. I knew the skull had cracked. It died shortly.

“Many people have also sent me birds that they have picked up from their house or workplace. On autopsy, many have a cracked skull or bent/broken bill. These birds are mostly small-medium sized ones like pittas, pigeons, bitterns, koels, etc. I guess these smaller birds are not as lucky as the eagle.

“In the States, many people hang window ornaments on their glass doors and windows to warn birds against flying into them. In Singapore, we don’t seem to have this practice. In fact, we just keep building more glass buildings and killing more birds!”

Sparrowhawks may escape death after crashing through the glass of windows but smaller birds may not be that fortunate.

Whatever it is, in the United States, it has been estimated that as many as one billion birds are killed each year through collisions with glass. Ornithologist Daniel Klem Jr. claims that only habitat destruction kills more birds.

When the glass is clear, birds see the other side and fly through. With reflective glass, birds see the reflected sky and trees. Either way, they usually end up dead. Many times you may not see an actual corpse, as a cat may have taken it. But there would always be a distinctive smudge on the window if the glass pane is not smashed.

Image of the seafront at Gottensburg, Sweden by YC.

The Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) that was passed on to me by Lin Yangchen on 21st February 2008 spent a quiet night in its cardboard box. It made soft chirping sounds when I opened the cover of the box the next morning.

Initially widening its gape reluctantly, it did so without persuasion as it was hungry. It was fed mashed bread in water and pieces of banana. Small lumps needed to be directed into the gape before the chick swallowed them. Pieces of mashed fish were also given. It made minimum sound when fed.

As it developed, the chick was more responsive, making more sounds and opening its bill when food was offered (left). It began to grab at the food offered when placed in the centre of the gape, rather than passively allowing the food to drop in.

Usually, it accepted two to three offerings of food at a time, after which it will not accept more. It needs to be fed regularly and often.

As it grew, it made more sounds and moved about inside the box. It also responded when I approached, making chirping sounds, asking to be fed.

Four days after rescue (X+4, X=21st February), the chick began to stand upright and hopped around a bit when places on the grassy ground. It was also seen preening its feathers along the sides of the belly.

The colour differential began to develop. The juvenal feathers around the nape became darker grey than those around the flanks (right top). The wings, other than those feathers showing white, were distinctly black.

On the morning of day X+5, the chick began to preen its wing feathers and scratched its head. It was also seen stretching its wings as well as flapping them.

This was the first time I noticed how it slept. Supporting itself on its tarsi and rump, it placed its head on one side of its shoulder, raised its lower eyelids to close the eyes and then went to sleep (right bottom). It also slept by resting its entire body on the ground, the head similarly touching the ground and wings slightly unfolded (right top). The legs were still not totally strong enough for the bird to stand most of the time.

On day X+6, the chick made louder noises in the morning from inside the box, obviously begging for food. It also flapped its wings vigorously. Unlike previously when anything that was placed into the throat was swallowed, this time the food offered, even when placed inside the throat, was first subjected to a vigorous shake of the head resulting in most being flicked away.

On day X+7, the chick was standing more, even hopping about more. With time the legs got stronger and it was able to stand most of the time. The image below (left), showing the chick supporting itself on its pair of tarsi, was taken on day X+5. That on the right, taken on day X+11, shows it standing upright.

The bird had the habit of turning around to defecate. This happened after taking a few mouthfuls of food. It would turn around, its back facing me, and defecate. Initially puzzled, I later realised that this is what it will do inside the nest.

The chick would be fed from outside the nest and the chick needs to turn around to force its faecal matters from its vent out of the nest. After all, it is not wise to pollute the nest as this will attract predators.

“I received a tip-off on February 8th, 2008 from Martin Kennewell, that he had encountered a flock of the mysterious ‘White-faced’ Plovers at Changi that morning. The next morning, Martin Daniel and I set off for the site (with the help of my wife, Sham, who drove us to the end of the road).

“The site was at the northern end of the large area of reclaimation at Changi. Here, on the coast, a sand-bar extends out in a semi-circle but does not re-connect with the coast. Both of us reached the site after a walk that produced a few birds, including an Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) and several Himalayan Swiftlets (Aerodramus brevirostris) migrating north.

“Walking out on to the sand-bar, we noticed that the large flock of shorebirds, mentioned by Martin Kennewell from yesterday, was largely absent. Instead, toward the end of the bar were a few shorebirds. We identified 3 pairs and an immature female Malaysian Plovers (Charadrius peronii) (above: 2 females and a male), 8 of the ‘White-faced’ Plovers, 2 Lesser Sand Plovers (Charadrius mongolus), a Terek Sandpiper (Xenus cinereus) and Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos). A flock of about 50 Pacific Golden Plovers (Pluvialis fluva) also flew over.

“I took a few photos but the White-faced Plovers were somewhat cautious, moving away when we got too close (above). Hence, my Panasonic Lumix was only good enough to make record shots.

“Lin Yangchen also visited the site a few days later, with a group of birders that included Martin Kennewell and David Blakewell. He managed a couple of much better shots of the White-faced plover, as seen here (left).

“Is this really a new species? They certainly looked quite distinctive when we saw them. A good case is certainly being built up by a few overseas birders and we now await capture of a bird to take a blood sample for final confirmation. Best of luck everyone!”

Images by Subaraj Rajathurai except close up of bird by Lin Yangchen.