The Red Avadavat (Amandava amandavat), also known as Red Munia and Strawberry Finch, is a South Asian bird the size of a sparrow. Because of its colourful plumage, it is a popular cage bird. A number of countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, harbour introduced populations.

According to Wang & Hails (2007), the Red was introduced into Singapore as early as the 1880s. Since then it has been sighted on and off but there has been no confirmation of breeding.

On 25st May 2008, KC Tsang sighted five birds, attracted by their “glaring red color… so obvious against the 
greenery.” They were feeding 
on grass seeds. He managed to get a portrait shot of a male bird in breeding plumage (above).


Robson (2005) lists it as a scarce feral bird. The Annotated Checklist (Wang & Hails, 2007) lists it under an appendix on escapees. However, the Pocket Checklist (Lim, 2007) does not list it, but this is not a problem as it is not a scientific publication.

Margie Hall wrote that “To get into the Checklists I think it would have to be “Introduced” in the sense of ‘recorded as having a (feral) breeding population.’ So I think you have a nice little project of watching your gang of five (possibly a post-Vesak troop) and see what transpires over the next few years. Enjoy, and keep us updated.”

Timothy Pwee added, “…there is an interesting question here: how many feral bird sightings are there per year in Singapore? The number and density of different species sighted would provide an indication of the size and trends in the bird trade.”

Can we assume that these five birds are recent Vesak Day releases? These birds have been around since 1880s, although the population has been fluctuating widely. Can we further assume that the early introductions disappeared through natural deaths and predation? Are there any chances that at least a few may have successfully breed? R Subaraj reported that he did observe breeding at various locations on and off. However, since the population did not sustain through the years the Red Avadavat is still on the escapee list.

We know very well that the majority of our local birdwatchers, at least since the early 1990s, are more interested in listing rather than observing bird behaviour, including breeding behaviour. Can this lack of interest contribute to most birders not knowing that the bird was actually breeding?

Now that photographer, including birder-photographers like KC, are aggressively documenting behaviour, we may well unearth hard evidence like an image of the Red Avadavat breeding locally that birders cannot dismiss easily.

References:
1. Lim, K. S. (2007). Pocket checklist of the birds of the Republic of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore) Bird Group Records Committee.
2. Robson, C. (2005). Birds of South-east Asia. London: New Holland.
3. Wang, L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007) An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.

Vesak Day in Singapore falls on 19th May 2008. On the eve of that day, Tang Hung Bun came across a pair of strange birds at Venus Link (below). Puzzled at the identity of these birds, he posted the images in the BESG’s forum.

Jeremy Lee was the first to respond, identifying one of them as Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis). Tan Kok Hui similarly identified it as the blue form of the Peach-faced Lovebird.

Summerian Turks added, “These are lovebirds (Agapornis sp). From the pictures I can only id confidently the bird on the left as the Peach-faced Lovebird (A. roseicollis) and the other could possibly be a Masked Lovebird (A. personatus) judging from its white-eye ring (can’t see the face well). But these birds are definitely lovebirds. Commonly found in the bird trade and I am certain they are someone’s pets.”

YC countered, “The front-faced bird looks like a Gray-headed Lovebird (A. canus), a male. Peach-faced has a red face.”

But Summerian stated that “A. canus is not in the Singapore bird market for a long long time and they die easily in captivity and some aviculturists here say due to our hot, humid weather. Plus Madagascar, where they originate, is birdflu country and the local authorities do not allow imports from there. There are many varieties of peach-face mutations in aviculture. This is one of them. A. canus is not in our market. Not to my knowledge at least.

“…The abandoned specimens, if I’m not wrong, are the Pastel Blue or the Dilute Blue. They have been hybridised even with A. fischeri and A. personatus and all the subsequent mutations that you actually get a variety of rojaks (mixture) in aviculture. Usually if they are hybridised with an A. personatus or A. fischeri, most mutations retain the characteristic white eye ring with the body having a variety of colors ranging from blue to shades of green and cinnamon, depending on the parent birds. This is from my experience with my flock a long time ago. Another commonly found mutation of Peach-face in Singapore are the Lutino Red Face. They are all yellow with the face being red… I have seen an all grey and diluted yellow Peach-face Lovebird mutations here. The color varieties are amazing.”


Vesak Day commemorates the birth and enlightenment of Lord Buddha and his entry into Nirvana. Among the various rituals that Buddhists undertake is the release of caged birds, animals and even insects. This signifies giving freedom to those in captivity

This practice of releasing animals has resulted in an increase in exotic species in our rural environment as devotees purchase caged animals from pet shops to release them. Unfortunately, these are not local species and many are unable to survive in the wild and eventually succumb to predation or simply die. Others are able to out-compete the indigenous species to eventually displace them.

The lovebirds found by Hung Bun may possibly be released by devotees on the eve of Vesak Day. The chances of their survival are slim. I am sure those responsible are not aware of the misery they are inflecting on these birds.

The National Parks Board has been at the forefront of educating the public and trying very hard to persuade people not to release exotic animals with varying success.

Alvin a.k.a. epiphytophile of NaturePixels.org was at Changi Cove on the afternoon of 9th April 2008 when he saw a strange and unfamiliar looking bird with a prominently long tail (above). He managed to get a few pictures before the bird disappeared. It was a male Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) in breeding plumage, thus the long tail.

Similarly, Dr Eric Tan a.k.a. MountainMan succeeded in snapping a few images of this impressively looking and attractive bird (below).

According to Subaraj Rajathurai, our bird specialist: “While these escapees can hang around an area for a while, the whydah has never established itself as a feral species. There are no breeding records, although immature birds have been seen, and they never occur at an area for more than a couple of months.

“This grassland species must have escaped from some bird holding area or bird shop. For the Serangoon records, along with the many other escapees that occured there in the 1980s/1990s, there is the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority Quarantine Station that was situated at the old Tampines Road nearby.

“As for Changi, there have been a few interesting escapees over the years and one wonders where they were escaping from.”

This is a brood parasite, a very aggressive bird that comes from most parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Because of its beauty, it is much sought after as a cage bird. The bird sighted at Changi is obviously an escapee.

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

On 9th June 2006, Tang Hung Bun captured an image of a duck perching atop a street lamp along Bukit Timah Road, near Raffles Town Club.

The white duck has a brown back and wing tips and a rusty band across its breast. Its legs, feet, bill and eyes are pinkish.

This duck is new to Singapore. KC Tsang helped identify it as Radjah Shelduck (Tadorna radjah), also known as Burdekin Duck, from the Northern Australian coast and parts of Indonesia.

For at least a year, if not longer, the duck can be seen in the Symphony and Eco Lakes of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Apparently it has been wandering around the island.

Introduced as a free-ranging bird? Escapee?

Incidentally, the Radjah Shelduck is listed as a protected bird in all states of Australia.

Input by KC Tsang and Tang Hung Bun; images by Tang (duck on street lamp) and KC (others).

In an earlier post on Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), it was mentioned that Western Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus) and Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) were seen above the paddy fields in Malaysia where Allan Teo was observing and photographing the moorhens.

Yong Ding Li made a pertinent comment, “Take note on the point about Western Marsh Harrier… It is actually a very very rare migrant to South East Asia and more so for Singapore (I suspect only one recent record and even then it is probably mis-IDed many times). Instead here it is replaced by Eastern Marsh Harriers (Circus spilonotus). In the oriental region, western is only regular in the subcontinent, occuring in wetlands and plains of places like Rann of Kutch, Bharatpur where it can be rather common.

However, R. Subaraj has this to say: “To me, the birds in the photo (above) look like a young female Western Marsh Harrier (on left) and a juvenile Steppe Eagle.

“With regards to Ding Li’s statement regarding the status of marsh harriers here, it is a little out-dated. Until 2005, he is right, as reflected in Robson’s guide. It was common in Myanmar but rare or a vagrant to Thailand and Peninsula Malaysia… no confirmed Singapore records! At the end of 2005, both Western and Eastern Marsh Harriers were reported from Changi Reclaimed Land and in the weeks to follow, several birders had visited the site and confirmed the presence of both species… with as many as 3 Westerns.

“Being a skeptic myself, I visited the area a few times during that period and personally confirmed at least three Western Marsh Harriers, along with a few Eastern, with excellent views. Reliable collegues and visiting birders, with me or independently, concurred. Hence, the Western Marsh Harrier does occur in Singapore as a vagrant, at least. “It is worth monitoring our area for the next few months to see if they visit again and become a regular occurrence… or if the last season was just unusual. In the last two decades, unexpected raptors have kept turning up in Singapore. Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) (above) and Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) are two others that fall into a similar category as the Western Marsh Harrier… birds that formerly only occurred no nearer than India and Myanmar. Other unexpected raptors that have turned up include Oriental Hobby and Jerdon’s Baza (Aviceda jerdoni)… normally sedentary species found no closer than the northern half of Malaysia, where they were considered rare.

“So what is going on! Why are these species suddenly turning up in Singapore? Perhaps it is the changing climate conditions? Or the continued deforestation and/or persecution of birds further north and south of us? Perhaps a bit of both!

“Other factors that certainly contribute are the superior optics available, the better field guides and identification books and the increased number of observers covering various parts of our nation. The digital photography age is also making a significant difference in confirming species.

“Finally, and equally significantly, the shrinking habitats available due to development means that birds have less choices if they turn up in Singapore and birders have a better chance of finding them!”

Input by Yong Ding Li and R. Subaraj; images by Allan Teo (top) and Wang Luan Keng (bottom).