“I was out today to re-visit old locations in the city, with secondary jungle/scrub, that are being threatened by development.

“In May 2009 I reported a Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus infortunatus) nesting colony (8-10 nests) where Glossy Swiftlets (Collocalia esculenta cyanoptila) were robbing the active nests of Baya Weaver of their nesting material

“Went back to the exact location and saw the same behaviour still occurring.

“Many Glossy Swiftlets, one or two at a time would swoop down repeatedly to the completed Baya Weaver nest. They all target the same two nests that were already partially destroyed (one more than the other, both were close to each other). The material was again collected from the nest entry location (entrance-tube section). Possibly easier to steal and rip off from this location.

“The Glossy Swiftlets would either swoop in and grab a loose strand with their beak and pull away until it snapped. Or land upside down, hold on with their feet and pull out a strand (above left).

“Again they were stealing the Baya Weaver nesting material from a nest with young within. The activity was ‘violent’ and the nest swing side to side as they pulled strands hard. Again the Baya Weavers continued to feed their young (some difficulty in entering the nest) but did not seem to chase away the Glossy Swiftlets (above right). All the material brought for feeding was animal prey and I have only seen female feeding young (often caterpillars).

“About 10 meters away I saw more ‘healthy’ Glossy Swiftlets that were collecting nesting material of dried strands from a dead creeper (above left) It was tougher work but an honest day’s labour.

“You can see in contrasting the two nest being robbed how much material has been lost from the entrance-tube section of the nest (above right).

“I suspect this “colony” of Glossy Swiftlets has learned this bad behaviour and it will persist.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
6th March 2010

“My wife and I first saw this Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus peninsulae) furiously chasing a Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata hodgsoni) yesterday morning. The barbet was yelping in terror – a call I have not yet heard from this barbet. Not sure as to outcome as they flew into some trees.

“Note how the bird likes to sit on one foot, with the other often hidden in the feathers. Occasionally the foot will ‘peep out’ when a gust of wind blows the feathers. I thought it might be a damaged foot but yesterday’s shots show the same action but with the other foot.

“I reviewed past photographs (previous years) and saw the same posture. It does use both feet as well to perch. Wonder if this “one foot perch” is for long durations.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City
Perak
Malaysia
20th & 21st December 2009

Note: Birds standing on one foot may to reduce heat loss.

A Masked Finfoot (Heliopais personata) was sighted in Singapore’s Upper Seletar Resevior in early January 2010. The bird is an extremely rare, non-breeding visitor and obviously everyone was excited. Unlike local twitchers who were only interested in just a look in order to make a tick on their checklist, photographers made repeat visits. The latter were interested in getting images of the bird doing more than just swimming in the water.

And a few photographers did succeed in observing the finfoot’s behaviour. KC Tsang noticed the bird foraging among the plants around the edge of the water, possibly looking for insects. When it swam close by a huge monitor lizard (above), there was no fear. Did the bird sense that the lizard was harmless or was it not familiar with such lizards from where it came from? The bird even swam slowly after the lizard, following slowly behind. Johnny Wee was amused that the bird and the lizard simply looked at each other, “not knowing what to do.” Mark Chua on the other hand documented the bird with a water snail in its bill (below) while David Tan photographed the bird with a small fish.

The Masked Finfoot was sighted as early as 1995 but in the absence of detailed information the sightings have never been officially recognised. Photographic evidence was finally obtained in 2002 at Upper Seletar. Now, eight years later, another sightings is being reported. This time around, there are more than enough photographic evidence, considering that there were many photographers at the scene.

This species is globally VULNERABLE as the population is estimated at less than 10,000 birds. Its habitats include reservoirs, streams, slow-flowing rivers, mangroves and coastal areas. The fast disappearance of such habitats has obviously seen to the decline of the population.

The Masked Finfoot is thinly distributed mainly from Bangladesh and NE India (Assam) through Myanmar and Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam. Its status in Thailand, usually considered as resident, might well be uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor. In Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, its status is still uncertain. However, recent evidence suggests that there is a possibility of breeding in both these areas. The fact is that records are few and far between and more observations need to be documented.

All evidence points to the species being essentially sedentary. There is no evidence of regular migration. The occasional appearance of the bird outside its normal range obviously points to the fact there is limited movements.

Information of behaviour is just as lacking. It is generally known that the bird feeds on aquatic insects, crustaceans, molluscs, small fish, frogs and water weeds. Again, details are lacking. Breeding behaviour is poorly known. The shyness of the bird and its secretive habits make observations extremely difficult

Top image by KC Tsang; bottom image by Mark Chua.

References:
1. Bertram, B. C. R., 1996. Family Heliornithidae (Finfoots). In del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 210-217.
2. Wang, L.K. & C. J. Hails, 2007. An annotated checklist of birds of Si ngapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 15: 1-179.

“Had just finished for the day (last Sunday), been a very hot day and was resting near the car when I saw these two birds from far off. One was a Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus intermedius) the other looked like a crow but much bigger (1.5 times the Brahminy Kite size) (above left). There are only a few pairs of Brahminy Kites in the city and I thought it may be chasing the other bird from its nesting site. As they drew closer I recognised it was an aerial battle between two raptors - the Brahminy Kite and the Changeable Hawk Eagle, dark phase (Spizaetus cirrhatus limnaeetus) (above right).

“I have only photographed aerial combats twice in the past. This one spanned from one horizon to the nest and lasted 4-5 minutes…

“Although the Brahminy Kite was the aggressor throughout my observation, note that the Brahminy Kite’s right wing is badly damaged. Suggesting that earlier in the fight it may have suffered damage at the hands of the Changeable Hawk Eagle.

“The Brahminy Kite stayed persistently above the Changeable Hawk Eagle and did not allow it to get the upper hand. It made a number of sorties, swooping down on the Changeable Hawk Eagle. The Changeable Hawk Eagle responded by twisting its body in mid air and presenting its talons, repeatedly (saw this four times) (above). Finally the Changeable Hawk Eagle gave up and the battle ended at the other end of my viewing horizon.

“I saw the Brahminy Kite return ‘victorious’ alone. …been seeing it around my area this week, yet to find a nest.

“I am indebted to Dr David R Wells and Krys Kazmierczak for help in identifying the Changeable Hawk Eagle (dark-phase).”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
13th December 2009

Mike Tan a.k.a. woof encountered a Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) excavating a roosting-nesting cavity in November-December 2009 (above left). The small cavity in the tree trunk was significantly enlarged within a fortnight as the barbet worked furiously at it (above right). Once the cavity was completed, the barbet returned nightly to roost in it (below left).

Ownership of a nesting hole does not last long in Singapore where there is a shortage of such cavities and competition for occupancy is intense. After all, very few birds are capable of creating a fresh nesting cavity. And natural cavities are few and far between, considering that old and rotting trees are constantly being removed in urban areas. In the forest such trees eventually collapse.

Before long the Coppersmith Barbet was evicted from the cavity it excavated by a pair of Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis). The starlings were seen cleaning up its newly acquired home (above right).

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