“While birding at the Air Hitam Dalam Recreational Forest in Penang, Malaysia, our group came across a rather confiding Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) that was calling quite persistently from the freshwater swamp forest. During the breeding season, this species can be rather confiding at times and this particular individual gave us prolonged clear views when it alighted on exposed perches in the vicinity. It has a tendency to perch and call at the mid-level of the forest. At one time during our observation, it even alighted momentarily on the rope railings of the boardwalk that cuts through the swamp forest.”

Choy Wai Mun
25th April 2009

While driving along a dirt road, Chris Lee a.k.a. chrisli023 came across a strange looking bird. It was simply sitting by the road with its feathers looking disheveled. He took out his trusty camera and recorded the sight. The bird just looked at him then calmly walked into the undergrowth.

The funny-looking bird was a Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis), acting very unlike any coucal Chris is familiar with. On his drive back along the same road, he came across the same coucal sitting by the road. This time, it acted like any coucal would - it immediately ran into the bush.

Members of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae) that include malkohas and coucals, have delicate plumage that tends to get wet easily. Thus they need to dry their feathers by sunning themselves after rain or after foraging among wet vegetation. They usually dry themselves on a high perch with their wings spread and tail fanned and the back feathers raised to expose the skin to the sun.

Check out our earlier posts on the malkoha sunning HERE: 1, 2 and 3.

Reference:
Payne, R.B. (1997). Family Cuculidae (cucoos). Pp.508-607 in: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. eds. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 4. Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. 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.

A new scientific paper, “The role of the camera in birdwatching in Singapore” has just been published in the on-lime journal, Nature in Singapore [2009, Vol. 2: 183-191 by Tsang, K. C., R. Subaraj & Y. C. Wee]. You can get a PDF copy of the paper HERE (#27).

Bird watching in Singapore will never be the same again - ever since bird photographer descended on the scene in early 2000s. The spectacular images of birds and their behaviour that photographers captured with their digital cameras (including those captured with conventional films) have three important impact on birdwatching…

Identifying birds
1. Cameras and images are showing up the weakness of the Records Committee (RC) of the Nature Society (Singapore)’s Bird Group. A number of records have been or need to be retracted due to re-examination of photographic evidence eg. mis-identification of a kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) for a long-billed plover (C. placidus) and the questionable inclusion of the Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) in the checklist. Well, we live and learn, after all, nobody is perfect! What of the others where no images are available?

2. With images as evidence, the RC cannot simply dismiss claims by birdwatchers of seeing unrecorded species as “lack of evidence”, as in the past. The Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) was recently accepted as a new record for Singapore – with photographic evidence, even though it took 23 months to do so.

3. An old image allowed the RC to claim that the first sighting of the Jerdon’s baza (Aviceda jerdoni) should be seven years earlier. It would have helped shore up the credibility of the RC had the old image been published before, rather than after, the claim in BirdingAsia was made. However, to date, the old photograph has yet to be published. So the claims is still ringing hollow… and is this science?

Food and feeding behaviour
1. Now we have proof of whatever species of birds we report taking specific foods. In the past we take the submitted observations in good faith. With images, we can even query whether the particular bird actually swallowed the food and if so, whether it eventually spit it out. Or whether the bird was actually treating the food as a plaything.

2. Images allow specialist biologists to identify the foods at their leisure. It is also possible to identify the plant or animal foods to the generic or even specific level.

3. Images allow us to know whether the bird bites, swallows or crush the foods; cast pellets later on…

Bird behaviour
1. Pollinating of mistletoe flowers by Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (Loriculus galgulus) and Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) when the birds applies slight pressure on the flower buds to get at the nectar. This is a split-second action, the significance of which is usually missed when viewed through the binoculars.

2. Keeping detailed records of breeding behaviour of Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii), Zebra Dove (Geopelia striata) and Little Tern (Sterna sumatrana) with photographic records.

Not all birdwatchers are convinced that the camera is here to stay. A few of the more progressive ones are now toting a camera when out in the field. But there are others who are feeling threatened… But why the need to feel threatened? After all, birdwatching is a pastime and if you are happy just looking at birds, so be it. Go out and have fun twitching.

Image of photographers at Bidadari by Lena Chow.

It all started when KC Tsang found a dead Hooded Pitta (Pitta sordida) at Kang Choo Bin Road on the evening of 13th November 2007. This is an uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant and KC thought that someone might want it for a museum specimen.

The forum discussion on the dead pitta attracted the attention of Mike Donahue of Seattle who wrote:

“Avian specimens in museum collections are libraries of biological material and provide a wealth of information: they have tremendous value for studies on taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, distribution, geographical variation, anatomy, molt and plumage sequences, morphology, age and sex differences, migration, and timing of reproduction. …The same specimens can be used repeatedly to answer a number of biological questions. If stored and handled properly they can last for hundreds of years.

“An under appreciated value of museum collections is their role in conservation. For example, feathers can be analyzed for the presence of heavy metals and different forms of carbon and nitrogen. This provides information about the bird’s environment and can be used to track changes over time. The role of DDT in egg shell thinning was established in part by examining eggs in museums that were collected prior to the use of DDT.

“Studies of molt have been able to identify geographic regions that may be critical during the molting period. Why is it necessary to continue adding to museum collections? Birds vary by season, sex, and age, often wearing more than one plumage over the course of a year. They vary geographically, and some can take several years (up to 10 in some albatrosses) before they reach plumage maturity. A large number of specimens of each species are necessary in order to adequately represent all of this variability.

“…An adequate number of specimens to examine are required in order to determine any meaningful patterns. What was understood about Arctic Tern molt for years was based on an examination of 15 specimens, only 5 of which were in molt. A further study of 338 specimens that included 81 in molt revealed that the previous conclusions about their molt pattern were incorrect.

“The bottom line is: Don’t assume that the House Finch or Fox Sparrow that hits your window is “just a common bird” and isn’t valuable!

“To store specimens: Stuff a small piece of tissue in the mouth of the bird. Wrap the bird in a piece of newspaper. If the bird is large, fold the head and legs around the body to form a compact package before wrapping.

“Put the bird in a plastic bag and squeeze out the extra air. Specimens can be kept for months in the freezer, but a lengthy storage can cause freezer burn, which makes the specimens more difficult to prepare, and often causes damage to the gonads. So don’t let them sit in your freezer for too long!

“Recording data: The locality and date found are the most important pieces of information to record. Also include your name and phone number and manner of collection (road kill, window kill, etc).”

The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore, has a collection of dead bird specimens and welcomes more. Please contact Wang Luan Keng at 65163011 or e-mail her at dbswlk@nus.edu.sg. Specimens should be kept in plastic bags (double bagged), kept cool or frozen, if possible. Specimens should be labelled, noting the date collected, location found and person who found it. Also cause of death if available.

NOTE: Those who are uncomfortable about collecting dead birds, considering bird flu, etc, please contact RMBR.

A White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) was photographed by Ingo Waschkies in Khao Yai, Thailand in May 2009.

Ingo found a nest that was under construction. Not wanting to disturb the nest, he waited where the pair of birds were collecting their nesting material to photograph. The male was a bit shy, but the female came out into full sunlight where the shot of her with a dried leaf in her bill was shot.

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