Photographers like to show images of Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) carrying their chicks on their back. Indeed these images attract the most attention, as seen in the one above by Dr Jonathan Cheah Weng Kwong.

Most grebe species carry their chicks in a pocket formed between the wing and the dorsal feathers. This may be seen when the birds are on the nest, with the adult feeding the chicks when they are snug inside. When the adult is swimming, the chicks may be transported along inside the pocket. Occasionally when the adult dives, the chicks may still be inside the pocket.

The Little Grebe feeds on insects, molluscs, crustaceans, amphibians and some fish. The image above shows a chick swallowing a fish. Grebes have been known to eat their own feathers that form a characteristic feather-ball that lines the gizzard. This ball is regularly regurgitated in the form of a pellet containing the non-digested parts of the food like fish bones and insect exoskeleton.

However, feather eating and pellet casting have yet to be documented in the Little Grebes seen locally.

In June 2008 Nelson Khor posted images of the adult Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) in breeding plumage and a juvenile, and commented that it: “Is common in Penang and Kedah in Malaysia, once they arrive, immediately they start nesting, when the juvenile are grown, they will start to move on and back to their home…”

The image of the juvenile above shows it stretching its right foot and wing at the same time. This appears to be a favourite comfort behaviour even with the adult (below).

Oriental Pratincole is an uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant to Singapore. In Peninsular Malaysia it a resident as well as a migrant.

The bird breeds in E Siberia, NE Mongolia, S Manchuria, China, India, Sri Lanka, S Japan, Taiwan, S Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and as far south as Luzon.

It can be seen in open country, coastal pools, lakes, by rivers and dry rice fields.

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

From India comes a note from Ashwini Vaidya, on the preference of the Indian Silverbill (Lonchura malabarica) for old weaver nests.

“I have been following BESG for a while and find it really interesting. Sending my picture of Indian Silverbills occupying a Baya Weaver’s nest. They were abandoned, half completed nests and this is the second time I have seen Silverbills occupying nests made by weavers. The picture was taken in Hyderabad, India.“

Earlier in January 2007, Ashwini wrote “I was at Manjira WLS, Sangareddy on Sunday. We observed a curious thing there: a silverbill with a feather in its beak was perched on a tree that had several weaver bird nests. It was followed by a female(?) silverbill and both of them surveyed us standing close by. Then the bird with the feather fluttered into the weaver bird nest - it was one of those ‘two-storey’ nests and stayed there for a while. The other bird remained outside and kept uttering low chirp sounds. Then the first flew out, minus the feather. Looks like the silverbills were trying to use the weaver bird’s nest for themselves!”

Indian Silverbill is a small to medium-sized munia of the open country, scrub, cultivated areas and any areas associated with human dwellings. It is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and west to the Middle East.

Its nest is a somewhat irregular to ovoid sphere made of grass with an entrance at one end. It is built in bushes and trees up to 3 m above ground. According to Restall (1996) the Indian Silverbell also favours old weaver nests, like those of Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) and Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

Reference:
Restall, R. (1996). Munias and mannikins. East Sussex: Pica Press.

The above paper has just been published. A PDF copy is available HERE.

Birding can be said to have originated in mid-1960s when British birders mist-netted and ringed birds as part of the Migratory Animal Pathological Survey that was then based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The survey was scientific in nature, and the activity yielded important information on bird migration, breeding and moulting data.

When the survey ended, Ng Soon Chye continued ringing activities at the old Serangoon Sludge Treatment Works from 1975-76. There was loose group of birdwatchers then, mostly members of the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch). But it was only about a decade later when Clive Briffett and Chris Hails formed a Bird Group that birdwatching really took off. Clive and Chris tried to encourage birdwatchers to not just look at birds, but observe them as well. They were trying to inject a little science in the local birdwatching scene.

In the 1990s, locals took over the running of the group. Being insular and without the support of expatriate birders who had overseas exposure, the group ended up just looking at birds. Most of our birdwatchers are now great at identifying birds in the field. However, as Slim Sreedharan, once said, regional birders tend to “learn more and more about less and less”.

The arrival of digital bird photographers around 2000s totally changed the equation. Aggressive and persistent, they were suddenly thrust at the forefront of birdwatching to the extent that traditional birders, although initially suspicious of them, are now aggressively courting them for their sighting information and excellent images.

KC Tsang (left) still brings his binoculars when in the field, but most of the time uses his digital camera to record bird behaviour. He is a regularly contributor to this weblog.

The Bird Ecology Study Group has been working closely with photographers for the last few years. We showcase their observations and later publish (1, 2) their findings in scientific journals to make the information easily available to one and all.

So birding in Singapore has come full circle. It started as a scientific activity, became a purely recreational activity and now, science has once again returned to birdwatching.

The white-stemmed button vine (Cissus hastate) is a herbaceous plant with 4-angled stem that is narrowly winged (left). It climbs with the help of its reddish tendrils, scrambling over low vegetation and tall trees, to dangle down from the high branches. The leaves are simple, with an arrow-shaped base that narrows to a pointed tip. The small flowers are in bunches borne along the stem, developing into round berries that turn black on ripening.

Fruiting is profuse, attracting fruit-eating birds like Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis), Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum), Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) and Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) (bottom, clockwise from top left).

This prolific climber can be made to scramble up trees as it adds to the aesthetics with its dangling stems bearing flowers and fruits. Grown in rural areas, the plant would attract many other bird species.