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).

There seem to be quite a few species of exotic red parrots roaming the urban areas of Singapore, as seen from the images sent in to the various e-loops. In March 2006 Johnny Wee sent in an image (above) with a note stating that the red parrot was seen eating the fruits of the sea apple (Syzygium grande). Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has this to say: “The parrot in the photo is a lory. It is possibly a Red Lory (Eos bornea), though this cannot be confirmed definitely as the photo does not show the wings and most of the body, and the blue eye patch is difficult to see in the photo. The Red Lory is native to the Moluccas but is a regular escapee here, though it has not established itself as a feral species yet.” Melinda Chan also sent in an image of a red parrot (above) and Subaraj has this to say: “This is a female Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus). The male is green. It is an escapee, being native to northern Australia, New Guinea and the Moluccan islands of Indonesia. There are several past records of such escaped parrots around Singapore as the bird is regularly traded, but it has never become established.”

These are actually parrots of the rainforest canopy in their native countries. The feed on fruits, seeds and blossoms. They are noisy and conspicuous, because of the bright plumage. The remarkable sexual dimorphism has caused endless confusion to birders.
Then Fuhai Heng sent in another image (above) with a note saying: “When we travel overseas, we feel glad when meeting someone from our own country. I noticed it is the same for escapee birds in Singapore. These birds gather for breakfast regularly at the Ang Mo Kio area to feast on the nectar from the flowers of the salam tree (Syzygium polyanthum) tree. They arrive at 7 am and leave half an hour later at the cue of one leader.”

Subaraj has this to say: “Actually, this isn’t a Rainbow Lory at all. It is one of the Eos lories of Wallacea, Indonesia. It is possibly the Violet-necked Lory (Eos squamata) of the North Moluccas.

“Apart from the Rainbows, there have been red lories flying around various parts of Singapore for a number of years now. Most of the time, we are unable to identify the species in flight but careful observation when perched or even better, a photo, will show us just how many different members of this genus and the Lorius genus free-fly here.

“Most of these parrots are protected by international and Indonesian laws but enforcement in most of Indonesia is weak or non-existent. As a result, large numbers of these beautiful parrots are smuggled out each year and many move through Singapore, as the constant escapees prove. Many can also be readily found available at pet shops here.

“None of these lories have established themselves as feral species in Singapore….yet! The Rainbow is the closest to doing so, with one reported breeding record. It would be good to continue monitoring them and report numbers as well as produce photos for identification of species.”

Thank you Johnny Wee, Melinda Chan and Fuhai Heng for your input. Images by Johnny (top), Melinda (middle) and Fuhai (bottom).

If you are at Changi Village and hear loud screeching, look around you, especially at the many tall angsana (Pterocarpus indicus) trees along the road. These are the Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffini) (above), also known as Tanimbar Cockatoo. There are usually about five birds around these trees and they are hole nesters.

There are up to 20 such corellas in the Loyang/Changi area. They are also found elsewhere in Singapore, including about 40 on Sentosa.

The other parrot commonly using these trees are the Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri), also known as the Moustached Parakeet. There are also about three Yellow-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) (below) around Changi but they hardly visit the village.

All the above birds are not natives of Singapore. Tanimbar Corella is native to the Tanimbar Islands of Wallacea. The Red-breasted Parakeet has always been found in Java, Bali, India, Andaman Isle, China, Indochina, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Both were introduced to Singapore three to four decades ago through the bird trade. All have established themselves in Singapore and have feral (i.e. tame birds that returned to the wild) breeding populations.

In Singapore, the Tanimbar Corella feeds on the fruits of various wayside trees like Sea Almond (Terminalia catappa), pong pong (Cerbera odollam) and starfruit (Averrhoa carambola). They are wasteful eaters, pecking away a few morsels only.

One or two Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), also escapees, have recently been seen in Sentosa.

PS: All three cockatoos are endangered. Yellow-crested and Tanimbar are listed in Appendix I of CITES while Sulphur-crested is in Appendix 2. This means that commercial trade in these birds is prohibited as of 14th June 2006.

Text by R. Subaraj, images by YC (top) and Meng and Melinda Chan (bottom).

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus), also known as Common Peafowl and Indian Peacock, are popular with parks and zoos worldwide. They are free ranging birds and are easily kept. The Singapore Zoological Garden’s peafowl frequently fly off to the nearby forest area along Mandai Lake Road to forage.
Lately, Meng and Melinda Chan came across a peahen that flew over to lay her eggs. The bird chose a large bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus) that grew on a raised tree stump to lay four eggs that were larger than chicken eggs. She was sitting on the fern incubating her eggs. The male was nowhere in sight.

According to the literature the female peafowl usually lays her eggs in a shallow scrape of ground and incubates them herself. The male seeks other females immediately after copulation.
Peahen generally attracts attention in Singapore and one laying eggs attracts more attention. Was it a wonder then that one egg was earlier destroyed by someone and another pinched by an irresponsible person?

On that morning in early July 2006 when Meng and Melinda were there, they found a broken egg on the ground below the incubating bird. Melinda wondered, “…could the egg have rolled down from the nest and broke? Was it possible that the bird rejected the egg since someone was earlier seen handling it?”The bird later abandoned her last egg as she was seen wandering about and not incubating in her nest.

Apparently this was the second observed nesting. The first happened one month earlier when two eggs were laid on another bird’s nest fern. Unfortunately the eggs rolled down from the fern within a day they were laid.

Our bird specialist R. Subaraj has this to say: “This species is on my Singapore checklist due to the free-ranging population on Sentosa fulfilling the three criteria for Introduced Species. On Sentosa, there are several records over the years of young chicks accompanying females.”

Thank you Meng and Melinda Chan for the account and the images. The top image of a peacock in the Singapore Zoo is by YC.

KC Tsang posted an account of his encounter with the Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) where there were two adults and a juvenile. These escapees are apparently breeding successfully, as the presence of a juvenile shows.

The question now is, can an escapee that has bred successfully be considered a feral species?

According to our bird specialist R. Subaraj, “Feral species are escapees/introductions that fulfill three basic criteria: 1. the species has been around for at least a decade; 2. presence of a stable, self sustaining population; and 3. at least one breeding record in the “wild” around Singapore.

“While it is noted that the an immature Masked Lapwing was seen with two adults, there is no proof that the actual breeding took place in the ‘wild’ as it is old enough to be free-flying. Breeding by free-ranging species within the grounds of the zoo, night safari or bird park does not count. Besides there is ample food provided at those areas that makes the species less self-sustaining.

“I know that this all sounds terribly confusing but this is the basic international rules for acceptance of a feral species onto a country’s national bird checklist. There are obviously grey areas but we try to fulfill the above three criteria before adding anything introduced onto the checklist.“So as such, the Masked Lapwing will remain a mere escapee until otherwise proven, just like many other free-ranging species from our captive collections - Painted (Mycteria leucocephala) and Milky Storks (M. cinerea), Marabou Stork (Leptoptilus crumeniferus) (above), Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) (below), etc.“An interesting case is the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis). In Singapore and most of the Malay Peninsula, this species is a common migrant occurring from September to April. However, over the western half of Singapore, we find Cattle Egrets throughout the year with many birds in breeding plumage even in December. They all fly out of the bird park each morning and return each evening. With thousands now present, the trees at the bird park become packed with egrets each evening and they intend to cull them. There isn’t a single breeding record outside the bird park! This despite the large range of the originally released (despite bird park denying this) population. At the eastern side of Singapore, where I stay, we still see the first migrant arrive in September and the last leave in April, except when a few summer like at the airport this year. With no breeding records outside the bird park and possibly the zoo, this species remains a common migrant (CM) only.

“We need all records, no matter whether it involves escapees or naturally occurring species. Based on data collected over time, we can then gauge the actual status of many birds. For now, we can only follow the accepted rules and go with what we have, without making rash judgement regarding status.”

Thanks to Subaraj for the above and KC Tsang (Masked Lapwing) and YC (Marabou Stork, Brown Pelican) and for images