“I was witness to a brief confrontation between two Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) last Sunday morning.

“My attention was first drawn to a Grey Heron descending in the middle of the sea after making a sharp turn. As it descended, it decelerated as if it was moving in slow motion. When it was about to reach the water surface, with its long neck stretched downwards, it plunged its long beak into the water. When its beak emerged out of the water, a huge catfish had been caught (below).

“It then ascended and flew to a shallow part of the sea where it prepared the fish; manipulating it in its mandibles and washing it in the water several times. At times, the fish slipped from its mandibles to be picked up soon after. About 15 minutes after the catch, the preparation seemed complete as the fish was positioned ‘head-first’ towards its throat.

“Suddenly, a second grey heron appeared and flew in (below left), landing less than ten metres away. By this time, the huge fish, which must be heavy, had been held in ‘head-first’ position, for about 1 minute 45 seconds - a pretty long time. The first heron must be tiring, and somehow, seemed not quite ready to swallow the fish.

“The first heron looked uneasy with the arrival of this second bird. It changed direction to move away from the second heron with the prey still being maintained in ‘head-first’ position. Apparently, it had wanted to finish off its huge prey. Unfortunately, probably due to its lack of experience or pressure exerted by the presence of the second bird, the fish slipped away from its grip and fell into the water (above middle).

“Immediately, the second heron grabbed this opportunity to fly in to challenge for the fish. In a defensive stance to deter the intruder, the first heron reacted by opening up its wings and erected the black plumes on its head (above right). Both birds leaped out of the water and were airborne in confrontation (below left). The soaring second heron’s higher position above the first heron, probably exhibited its superiority over its opponent (below middle). When they landed, the first heron turned away in retreat, defeated (below right). Neither vocalisation nor physical contact was observed during this brief confrontation.

“Victorious, the second heron picked up its prize from the sea. It then flew away with the huge fish firmly in its beak, leaving the vanquished to rue its loss and misfortune.”

Kwong Wai Chong
Singapore
25th February 2010

“I have been watching crows harvesting chicks from the date palm trees around my condo. The palm trees are pretty unprotected and the crows make a round every week or so, often managing to leave with a chick in beak.

“I managed to chase away a crow that was trying to snatch a chick from a Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) that nested in a date palm tree just outside my window (left). After being chased away, it never returned and the chicks fledged successfully.

“It appears that the crows have a fixed route of locations that they visit and they only make a visit approximately once a week.

“Wonder if anyone has similar observations.”

Jeremy Lee
Singapore
9th February 2010

Lee Tiah Khee photographed a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) catching a little fish. The kingfisher then flew it to its original perch to enjoy its meal (above left). Unfortunately, in trying to manipulate the fish for swallowing (above right), the fish slipped free and fell back into the water (below left). The kingfisher simply looked on, as if surprised (below right).

John Vickerman commented on the sequence of photographs thus: “Just goes to show that if you keep watching - or photographing - common birds, sooner or later you’ll come up with something that is seldom recorded. Kingfishers don’t often make mistakes, but this wonderful sequence shows it can happen.”

Images by Lee Tiah Khee.

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

“In mid August 2009, I had chanced upon a pair of Long-tailed Shrikes (Lanius schach) collecting nesting materials (below). Subsequent visits to the site yielded some interesting encounters. Here, I wish to share an encounter of a long-tailed shrike taking on a bird as prey.

“On 23 August, this long-tailed shrike was, as usual, perched on the crown of a tree overlooking a vast expanse of grassland. It was waiting patiently for its prey; which were observed to be mostly insects. The bird’s high vantage point proved good as it dived down suddenly into the overgrown grass to target its prey. When it emerged, it flew to perch on a mimosa plant. It had caught a small bird in its beak. I’m unable to identify the prey as the photographs were not of optimum quality as they were taken in haste.

“The shrike looked like it was about to impale its catch on a sharp stem next to its perch (above left), but did not (or was not successful) do so (above right). It hesitated for a while before flying with the bird into the thick foliage of a tree. There, under the cover of the thick foliage, it started tearing up and eating the carcass (below left). After a few mouthful of its catch, it flew with the carcass to another tree where it completed its feast in about 20 minutes (below right).

“Later, the shrike moved into an opening in the foliage and proceeded to preen itself. It was seen stretching its right wing before doing the same to its left wing. It then reached under its belly before reaching for its back and the preen gland (below). Just for the record, it then scratched itself with its left leg extended over its wing.

“It seemed that the Long-tailed Shrike is more successful in hunting its prey on the ground. The success rate of catching birds in flight seemed to be low … As the chase progressed, the space between the birds increased, and the pursuing shrike gave up after a short chase.

“I have observed, on other occasions, that the Long-tailed Shrike was similarly not successful in chasing after some Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura punctulata) and a pipit.”

Kwong Wai Chong
Singapore
12th January 2010

The earlier post of a Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) impaling a lizard on a palm thorn has made people more aware of this feeding behaviour of shrikes. This is the first reported case of a shrike impaling its prey in Singapore accompanied with images.

The post attracted the attention of Dr Robert deCandido, an ornithologist based in New York who is familiar with the region. Robert mentioned that the late Laurence Poh photographed the larder of a Long-tailed Shrike, “including one frog that had been impaled.” The photograph was taken in 2003 in Ipoh, in the Malaysian state of Perak.

Now, Kwong Wai Chong has sent in his image of the shrike eating from its cache – a skink impaled on the broken end of a dead branch.

We welcome more records of shrikes impaling their prey from photographers and birdwatchers alike. The current public records of such feeding behaviour needs to be updated.