Adrian Lim a.k.a wmw998 documented a pair of courting Blue-eared Barbet (Megalaima australis) in Malaysia sometime in May 2008

The female was perching on a branch of a tree doing nothing in particular. Suddenly there was a loud call, made by a male nearby. He had food in his bill but this did not prevent him from making “such sweet music” as described by Adrian (left). The male was puffing and blowing to expand his throat pouch. As the pouch expanded, it pushed aside the black feathers that make up the black upper breast band, exposing a smooth, rounded, black sac.

The female was attracted to the male’s display but waited for him to come close and make his courtship offering of food. Only then was there copulation. Each act of copulation was preceded by an offer and actual transference of a succulent fig to the female (below). No fig, no sex! *

This courtship feeding of fruits followed by copulation went on for a number of times, as is typical of barbets (below).

In the image below the male is covering the female with his wings in another act of copulation.

The courtship feeding of the Blue-eared appears different from that of the Coppersmith (M. haemacephala). Whereas the former offered one fig per act of copulation, the latter often got away with less number of fruit as compared with number of copulations - often getting away with two for the price of one. Such behaviour was confirmed by another observation where the Coppersmith managed to copulate with the female, to only release the fruit after and not before. And then he mounted her a second time without offering a second fruit. Two for the price of one!

During mating, singing by the pair is incessant and simultaneous, with head bobbling, side to side tail movement, all these in an aggressively looking manner (Short & Horne, 2002).

Adrian confirms the above with his statement about the male: “Blue-eared Barbet seems to make very loud noise most of the time, when it is not having a female or attracting a female… Normally, it sounds like ‘CHIOK CHIOK’, and it can be doing that for minutes at a time. I have a feeling that it is trying to make its presence known to other males. This is a ‘territorial behaviour’ perhaps!

“However, when it is courting a female, or trying to attract a female to a certain perch or tree, the noise is much gentler and softer, and totally different from the ‘CHIOK CHIOK’. I can’t describe the sound to you in words, but in both cases, you can see the black sac.”

There seems to be no mention of the prominent black throat pouch in the literature. As such, this can be a first record in the Blue-eared Barbet, or any barbet for that matter. Discussion of this throat pouch will be posted in the next few days. So stay tuned!

Addenda:
“I have to clarify here that the courtship is a process that is likely to continue for a few days at the least, between the pair. It is not a case of a male going out to have a ‘good time’, spotted a female and making a lot of noise to attract it! In my opinion, the birds had already ‘accepted’ each other, and so the offer of food was like feeding a young, nothing spectacular, no noise making at all, even when the ACT was over. The only time that the gentle sound was made was when the female bird flew off for reason such as disturbance by other birds or animals, and the male wanted to call it back to the same tree.” Adrian, 1st June 2008

*Adrian has written in to clarify that there were occasions when “…the male bird would feed the female continuously, and only once in a while, got on top of her, though still with the food held in the beak and about to offer her.” 4th June 2008.

Reference:
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.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

All images by Adrian Lim.

“The Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) is a proud and magnificent raptor that feeds on carrion. The image above, reproduced from the late Dato Loke Wan Tho’s book, A Company of Birds, shows these raptors feasting on a cow’s carcass in their home territory in the Himalayas. Dato Loke was an early pioneer birder-photographer and Nature Society member.

“The Griffon is a resident of Central Asia and the Himalayas. It is a high altitude bird, found mostly at 1,500-4,000 metres but can sometimes be seen at lower altitudes, especially in Nepal where a few juveniles may wander down onto the plains.

“These vultures do not normally migrate south during winter but small numbers appear to be doing so during the last decade or so. The first sighting was in December 1989 when four birds were spotted in south-west Singapore. Subsequently, there were reports of their presence every few years or so. The last sighting was in January 2008 when three birds were spotted flying over the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

“All the recent sightings have been in December and January, coinciding with the northern winter. These were either juvenile or immature birds, suggesting that they probably strayed away from their normal flight paths due to navigational inexperience.

“Most of the birds spotted appeared weakened by the long flight and lack of food. There was always the fear that they might end up being predated, considering their state of health. As the lesser of two evils, the few that were captured ended up in the Jurong BirdPark, to become caged exhibits.

“A bird was also reported to be captured in the Indonesian island of Bintan in February 2008 and displayed in a local resort. When I was in Bintan recently, the vulture was looking well and healthy. However, my attempts at getting information were not successful.

“Lack of expertise and funds obviously saw these stray vultures ending in Singapore’s Jurong BirdPark, Indonesian Nirwana Gardens Resort aviary or even Thailand’s zoos, with no chances of being released

“However, there is hope. The Kasetsart University Raptor Rehabilitation Centre, in partnership with the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand and the Thai Raptor Group, has recently set up an “Adopt a Raptor” programme. Their first success was the care and subsequent release of a Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and four starving Himalayan Griffons.

“Singapore and possibly Indonesia could study Thailand’s success and develop programmes of their own so that future weakened and injured raptors need not end up being captive exhibits.”

The image of the Griffon feasting on carrion has been reproduced courtesy of Cathay Organisation. Please note that the copyright belongs to Cathay Organisation and shall not be reproduced/disseminated without the owner’s written consent. The Griffon in the cage is by KC Tsang.

Reference:
Loke Wan Tho (1957). A company of birds. London: Michael Joseph.

Since January 2007, Thailand’s Kasetsart University Raptor Rehabilitation Centre, in partnership with the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand and the Thai Raptor Group, has launched an “Adopt a Raptor” programme.

The scheme was started when a Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) was found exhausted in south-east Thailand in early January 2007 and handed over to Dr Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua of Kasetsart University.

Around the same time, four Himalayan Griffons (Gyps himalayensis) were caught in various locations in southern Thailand (top). They were likely members of a flock of five that were earlier seen at Doi Lang in mid-December 2006. All four eventually found their way to the Kasetsart University Raptor Rehabilitation Center.

Plans to release the Cinereous in South Korea was not possible due to a number of reasons. As such, it was released, together with the four Himalayan on 10th May 2007 along the Thailand-Myanmar border in Chiang Mai province (above).

The Centre continues to rescue injured or weakened raptors, especially vagrants that stray during migratory flights. Rescued birds are cared for until they regain their health and vigour. They are then tagged with a leg band, wing tag (left) or satellite telemetry prior to release to enable subsequent monitoring of their movements. Release will be done at the appropriate habitats and seasons to ensure maximum possible survival chances.

To participate in this “Adopt-a-Raptor” programme, contact Ms. Pajaree Intravooth, Assistant to the Executive Director, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (e-mail: pajaree@bcst.or.th). A nominal sum to cover food, medical and other expenses is all that is expected.

A video clip showing the actual release can be seen HERE.

All images courtesy of Thai Raptor Group.

In a talk to update the public on the Singapore Hornbill Project on 22nd May 2008, Marc Cremades, who initiated the project together with Prof Ng Soon Chye, announced that the population of the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) in Singapore has seen a sudden explosion.

These large and impressive birds have been slowly increasing in number over the last decade or so. When the project was initiated in 2006, the hornbill population was below 30 birds, with about 20 in Pulau Ubin.

The use of nesting boxes in the offshore island of Pulau Ubin has contributed to this sudden increase in population. The birds have been accepting these nesting boxes and using them to breed, and to raise a number of chicks successfully (top).

According to Marc, there are at least seven breeding pairs in Ubin and about 19 juveniles around. He estimates that the total population for Singapore is around 50.

Soon, these artificial nesting boxes will be tried on mainland Singapore. And hopefully, more Singaporeans will get a see these large and impressive birds.

The Bird Ecology Study Group is proud to be associated with the Singapore Hornbill Project.

The above image is courtesy of the National Parks Board, Singapore.

Willis photographed this Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia) collecting spider silk for its nest (above). It can be a messy job as seen in the image but spider silk plays an important role in the makeup of small nests of many small birds. The silk helps bind up the nesting materials, making the nest a more sturdy structure.

An earlier post on the Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) nest shows whitish spider cocoon silk on the nest surface together with mosses and liverworts.

Now, there is a difference between spider silk and spider cocoon silk. Spider silk comes from the web proper (top left). It is commonly believed that the sticky silk helps bind the superficial nesting materials together, just like in a sticky tape. However, according to Hansell (2007), only some spiders coat their webs with sticky droplets to trap prey, but these soon dry out. So the sticky tape idea is out.

It appears that the silk is used according to the Velcro principal. The silk provides the Velcro “loops” and the tiny leaves of the mosses and liverworts the “hooks”.

Another interesting point is that most of the silk that are seen on nests come from spider cocoon silk, the silk that is used to enclose the spider eggs (above right). Thus we see masses of white rather than single strands of white silk.

Image of iora collecting silk by willis; those of spiders by YC.

References:
1. Hansell, Mike (2000). Bird nests and construction behaviour. Cambridge University Press.
2. Hansell, Mike (2007). Built by animals. Oxford University Press.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience