On 25th February 2008, KC Tsang circulated the following account:

“It is sad to see this very regal-looking bird end up 
this way in someone’s cage in Bintan, Indonesia. Could it be
 for the better? I found this out from two very
 reliable sources. One was an Indian couple I met at a party, and 
the other, a person who was able to supply these pictures.

The Himalayan Vulture (Gyps himalayensis), also known as Himalayan Griffon, is now caged in a resort there.

“I was told that it was
 caught while feeding on a pig’s carcass in a pig farm.
 I am just wondering how is it that a pig’s carcass was
 left rotting, and for the vulture to come and feed on
 it.

“As it was so hungry, it was not too concerned with 
humans coming close enough to capture it.
 The time of capture of this beautiful bird, I was told, 
was sometime last year, I would hazard a guess, some
time November, December?



“So if there is some one out there who has more information on this bird, please do let us have it.”

This vulture is resident of Central Asia and the Himalayas. So far, a number of birds have been recorded to migrate as far south as Singapore since 1989. In January 1992 a small flock of nine birds were photographed at roost by J Smith and Morten Strange at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. As recent as 23rd January this year, we have sightings of three birds, two of which were photographed by Lee Tiah Khee flying over Bukit Timah.

Previously known to be sedentary and only migrating altitudinally, these vultures are more and more seen south of its normal range. This may be suggestive of an irruption or a range expansion of the species (Wang & Hails, 2007).

Wang. L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007). An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.

Three Himalayan Griffons (Gyps himalayensis) were sighted by Lee Tiah Khee flying over the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on 23rd January 2008. Tiah Khee managed to capture two of the three in the above image.

On the morning of 26th January, James Heng similarly made contact with these birds: “The bird flew overhead at 10.10am when I was at the northern part of the island that faces Johor. Where I was, there were also a pair of Black-winged Kites (Elanus caeruleus) and a White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster).

“That solitary Himalyan Griffon flew higher than the usual White-bellied Sea Eagles. As it was against a clear blue sky, the fold of feathers around its head (when its neck is retracted) was clearly seen. Even the small baldy head and large curved beak was very
visible.

“It flew inland from the Johor side for about 300-400m, took a left turn and then flew back out to the Straits of Johor again. You’d probably have a higher chance to see it flying along the Straits of Johor.

“In fact, I had probably seen the same bird gliding near the same location the previous day at about 2pm. It was seen from the beach in front of Bottle Tree Village at Sembawang Park. That raptor was soaring above the Straits of Johor towards Johor’s side.

“At that time, I thought that it was strange that the colors on that “adult WB Sea Eagle’s” tail were the wrong way round, i.e. white above black. I excluded the WBSE’s juvenile plumage as the lower primaries were lacking the pale patches and the breast and its lower coverts were grayish-white. Though I was very puzzled, the bird was too far away for my binoculars to get any further details. In hindsight, it may very well have been that same bird.

“In fact, as a scavenger, it makes more sense for the Griffon to feed at Johor’s side as there are far more mangroves, kelongs and kampungs. Singapore’s side is far too urbanised for them to find any carrion.”
.
Image of Himalayan Griffons flying by Lee Tiah Khee, that of the bird crouching by Wang Luan Keng was taken in January 2006 at Changi.

On the cloudy morning (1000-1100 hours) of 15th January 2008, Tan Gim Cheong was at Hindhede Quarry, Bukt Timah Nature Reserve when he encountered an Orange-headed Thrush (Zoothera citrina)…

“Arrived at Hindhede to the sound of a large group of people having team building activities.

“Looked around and located the beautiful Orange-headed Thrush (which betrayed its presence with its singing) on the ground. Moving about on the ground, it sang for about 10 minutes, foraged a bit, sang a bit more, then settled to preen. It flew three or four times, some of which were to avoid foraging squirrels/treeshrews. Its flight was swift and direct. During the first flight, it flew onto a branch at eye level and preened itself a bit. Even when the big group of people moved near, the OHT didn’t seem too concerned.”

Gim Cheong returned to the site the next day, this time from 1600-1700 hours when it was partly cloudy before turning sunny…

“Quiet today, very few people. OHT did not sing today. Foraging on the ground, it ‘poped’ across the openings in the vegetation every now and then allowing for unblocked views. As I thought about its behaviour, the day before and today, I get this feeling that as it foraged nonchalantly, it was also curious and was observing me as much as I was observing it!”

This thrush breeds in the Himalayas, South China, through to Southeast Asia. It winters in the Malay Peninsular, Java, Sumatra, Bali and Borneo. It is a rare visitor to Singapore.

The above is an interesting piece of observation by a young perceptive birdwatcher. It is heartening to note that more and more birdwatchers are now sending reports of bird behaviour to e-groups like pigeon-holes, BESG and even wildbirdSingapore. Obviously competition is good for everyone.

Yong Ding Li, Singapore’s up-and-coming birder, encountered a Barred Eagle Owl (Bubo sumatranus) last night (18th January 2008) and sent in this report:

“Singapore’s mysterious Barred Eagle Owl which has been recorded by a handful of birders in the past two decades decides to show up last night at the Central Catchment Forest.

“As we were walking into the forest, the first major piece of clue was the resonant double note ‘hu‘ of slightly different pitch and tone, classic Barred Eagle Owl song. The first ‘hu‘ was longer and more penetrating than the second note and was given by a perched bird at estimated less than 50 metres distance. After vocalising twice, the bird silently flew across the canopy with the beams on it, confirming its identity. Birders visiting the Central Catchment Forest should keep a lookout for this enigmatic individual.

“And as if the night wasn’t enough, two hours after the owl was sighted, at 11.55 pm, a stunning Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) appeared and clambered over a giant rattan to cross the canopy in full view for some 20 minutes allowing many minutes of live video footage to be captured and proving its continued existence on the mainland.”

The latest Annotated Checklist has this to say of the owl:

“Status - Very rare non-breeding visitor. Former resident, appears to be not rare in Singapore in the 1920s but it is certainly not so numerous as Ketupa (B & C, 1927). CITES II.

“Records – 1 collected on 1 Jun 1925 (RMBR). No further records until 1 was heard and seen at BTNR on Oct 1996. It was probably a stray from Johor and stayed until at least 4 Jul 1997 (OBC Bull. 25). 1, possibly the same one from BTNR was seen in NS on 28 Jan 1998 (OBC Bull. 27), 29 Jan 1998 and 15 Mar 1998 (SINAV 12-1) and again on 29 May 2001 (OBC Bull. 34).”

Image courtesy of Cheong Weng Chun.

Reference:
Wang. L.K. & Hails, C. J. (2007) An annotated checklist of birds of Singapore. Raffles Bull. Zool. Suppl. 15:1-179.

NOTE: Please note that our Nature Reserves are out of bounds at night. Prior permission from NParks is necessary to enter such areas after dark. For the information of readers, Ding Li and his collegues were there conducting research for the National University of Singapore and NUS and NParks have a memorandum of understanding on such studies.

On the morning of 26th December 2007, KC Tsang documented the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) at the Japanese Garden in Jurong (above). The bird was spotted by Margaret Yeo who alerted Amy and KC.

The Peregrine Falcon is widely distributed throughout the world. Its habitat is extremely variable, from the hot tropics to the high Arctic; from the coast to far inland; from semi-desert to forest; and from sea level to an altitude of about 4,000 metres. It breeds in all continents except Antarctica.

The uncommon visitor and passage migrant that is seen locally during the winter months is the subspecies japonensis. Its arrival can be as early as the first week of August to late May.

It breeds in West Siberia to Kamchatka and migrates to North Africa, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Thailand, the Malay Peninsular and as far south as Sumatra.

Latest: Jimmy Tan sent in the image on the left on 9th January 2008 stating: “There was also another Peregrine Falcon there at around the same period which appeared to have pick up some oil stains. Notice that its claws were also stained.”

Input and image by KC Tsang and Jimmy Tan; top image by KC and bottom by Jimmy.