“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

Facts:
“On 25th February 2010 at 10:30 hours I was bicycling along Mandai Road and saw what looked to be two birds flapping on the ground up ahead next to the track. This is a wooded stretch with large trees and branches hanging over the trail. I could see wings beating in the leaf litter; I mistook the event for two birds fighting on the ground. When I slowly got closer to investigate I saw a brown animal with a reddish head curled around a bird and holding it down. The long tail was wrapped around it like a snake. As I got too close, the animal released its grip and scuttled into the woods, I could see it was a male Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor).

“This lizard occurs naturally on the Indian subcontinent, south-east into Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia. It is believed to be introduced into Singapore, where it is now common. It feeds on insects and even small lizards according to Baker & Lim (2008).

“When I looked at the bird I saw it was a female Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans) (left top). It was gasping for air, the tail was bent backwards against its back. There were no visible wounds except a bite-mark on the back of the head (left bottom).

“According to Wells (1999): “Like other green pigeons (the Pick-necked Green Pigeon), hardly ever descends to the ground.”

I returned to the site again 2½ hours later with a camera. The pigeon had died and was being attacked by ants. There was no sign of the lizard.”

Speculation:
“Most likely the lizard attacked the pigeon on a branch in the tree above the trail and they fell to the ground. The flapping I saw was the pigeon trying to take off again. The puncture wound on the head was enough to kill the pigeon, but the lizard never returned to feed on its prey.

“It would be interesting to know if there are other cases of this invasive lizard species predating on birds.”

References:
1. Baker, N. & Lim, K. (2008) Wild Animals of Singapore. Draco Publishing, Singapore.
2. Wells, D. R. (1999) The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Volume One. Christopher Helm, London.

“Although I try to get opportunities to go out to watch birds, often our home is full of action and drama. Currently a number are nesting or have young in the garden – the Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier analis) have two young, the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum cruentatum) are nesting in the Tamarind tree, the Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica longicaudata) have built another nest in the Cinnamon tree and have eggs, Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis strigata) are feeding their young also in the Tamarind tree.

“In the past week I have noted three episodes of angry and frantic calls involving all the chaps above and also the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis). Each time it is because a male or female Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus malayanus) has turned up in the Tamarind or Cinnamon tree (left top). Everyone would gang up together to shout out their displeasure and some would even try to dislodge the Asian Koels by flying at them, especially the Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica) who are very concerned about their nest (left middle, with inset showing its ruffled feathers). It is amazing to see the cooperation, a small Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) working with the fantails, the Yellow-vented Bulbuls (left bottom, showing the raised crest), etc. A surprise was the involvement of the starlings.

“Like the birds who seem to know that Asian Koels are parasitic, I have no love for them and will assist in showing displeasure. Although Asian Koels are supposed to brood parasite the Jungle Crow (Corvus levaillantii) and House Crow (Corvus splendens), in Southern Thailand and Malaysian Peninsula, Koels are stated to have shifted host from crows to mynas (Payne, RB 2005. The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press). I have seen them check out the nest of many other birds but have yet to see them use them.

“Note: I only really notice Koels in any number in my city in 1991. In the past 20 years they have been extremely common. The House Crow on the other hand has only been noticeable in the city in the past seven years and even now are not large in number in the city.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Canning Garden Home, Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
18-26th February 2010

On numerous occasions Lena Chow observed two male Asian Koels (Eudynamys scolopacea) in a “standoff” - eyeballing each other for long periods, and making soft “wook wook” calls, unlike their usual loud “ko-el” calls. On one occasion she saw three male koels in a 3-way standoff. By the time she got her camera, one of them had flown off, leaving the other two (left).

On the afternoon of 3rd January 2010 there was a similar standoff. She tried her hand at filming the birds with her compact cam and at the same time recording their calls. You can view the video and hear the call HERE. The clip is 2 mins long - the birds appear at 1:18 when they emerged from behind the foliage.

On 3rd September 2009, Connie Khoo sent a note from her base in the Malaysian state of Perak to share her finding of a new behaviour pattern among the Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus).

Cooperative breeding has been reported in the family Sturnidae that includes starlings and mynas. Eleven species of African starlings have been known to indulge in cooperative breeding. Among Asian species Shining Starling (Aplonis metallica) and possible Yellow-faced Myna (Mino dumontii) may also be involved in such behaviour. But not Jungle Myna.

Cooperative breeding refers to cases where the two adult parents are assisted by helpers to care for a single brood of offspring. The helpers are generally non-breeding birds, often the siblings from the last brood. Helpers, besides helping in feeding the chicks, may also assist in territorial defence and nest building.

“On the morning of 5th August 2009 I was at the limestone hills at Kek Lok Tong in Ipoh, checking on the nests of the Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora). While there, my attention was directed to a pair stealing nesting materials from a nearby nest of the Jungle Myna.

“It was then that I noticed a family of Jungle Myna flying in and out of a crevice where their nest was. The adults were accompanied by two juveniles, whose plumage appeared abnormal – genetic freaks probably (above). Then I heard chicks calling from inside the crevice.

“Curious to find out more about the genetic freaks, I was pleasantly surprised to see one juvenile helping to feed the chicks. The chicks appeared mature enough to fledge anytime.”

The above image (left) shows an adult with a juvenile; that on the right shows a helper feeding the chicks in the nest.

Dr David Wells, in answer to Connie’s queries, wrote: “Freak plumage has allowed you to discover that Jungle Myna has ‘helpers at the nest’. This behaviour in birds, and often involving immature from a previous brood, but (to my knowledge) never before recorded in this myna. Well done!”

Reference:
Feare, C. & A. Craig, 1998. Starlings and mynas. Christopher Helm (Publishers) Ltd., London. 285 pp.