In August 2008 Lena Chow reported a pair of Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) incorporating a large piece of toilet paper into their nest.

Well, the bulbul pair are at it again. This time around, the pair is using “more tissue than ever before,” reports Lena (above left). The birds started building their nest around 2nd February 2010. Two eggs were laid and Lena is monitoring the situation. “Maybe they are tissue fetish,” muses Lena.

Over in Ipoh, in the Malaysian state of Perak, Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS reported finding a nest of the Yellow-vented Bulbul fitted with a piece of styrofoam (above right).

It would appear that this common urban bulbul has full adapted to urban life, making use of whatever materials they come across to construct their nests.

Ding Carpio from of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines encountered an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) carrying twigs on 19th December 2009 and again on 2nd January 2010.

“I noticed in two out of three recent trips to the La Mesa reservoir a peculiar behavior of an Osprey. It picks up a rather large stick/branch and flies around with it (left top). In both occasions, there were other Ospreys darting about. On the second occasion, another Osprey was apparently attacking (or playing with?) this stick-bearing Osprey,” wrote Ding. “…we actually saw the Osprey fly to a treetop and snatch off the branch (left bottom).
 Is this some part of a ritual? Or does an Osprey really bandy about a stick before taking to its nest-in-construction?”

Ospreys usually build their nests in tall trees, especially emergent trees that are dead and with broken off branches. The nest would thus be fully exposed, with the raptor having a clear view of the surroundings.

The nest is made of large sticks, twigs, driftwood and even seaweeds. New materials are added throughout the breeding season and as the nests are reused year after year, new materials are added. With time the nest may become a huge structure, sometimes becoming two metres deep.

Both sexes help in nest construction. They start off with large sticks, forcible breaking them off trees and flying off or picking up the sticks should they fall to the ground. These birds are sometimes robbed of their sticks by other Ospreys.

“Saw a number of Pacific Swallows (Hirundo tahitica javanica) building their nests on a vertical surface (left). This location is under a highway crossing/bridge (cement) next to a river, where lots of mud is available. Both partners were involved in nest building, although one (?female) seemed more busy than the other

“The base of the nest is made of mud pellets, the birds using their bills to smoothen and push the pellets together. Materials such as dry grass, rootlets and feathers are used to line the nest. In this particular nest where it was built close to the ceiling, the space between the top of the nest and the ceiling is lined with such material leaving a small opening by the side for entry by the birds (below left).

“According to Wells (2007), nesting is usually seen in February to June, thus 6th December is early.

“Some of the old nests have been taken over by some cheeky sparrows, after making some modifications (below right).”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Tambun, Perak, Malaysia
6th December 2009

Reference:
Wells, D.R., 2007. The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. II, Passerines. Christopher Helm, London. 800 pp.

“A Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) was excavating a nesting cavity in a rotting branch of a payung Sumatra of sandbox tree (Hura crepitans) that grows outside one of my neighbour’s house. The branch is angulated at 35-40º and the cavity is about 2.5 metres from the ground. This height is lower than the 4-15 metres that Wells (1999) report for this species. However, Short & Horne (2001) gives the height of cavities as 1.5-15 metres or more.

“The branch has an existing hole higher up that could be an old nest. This tree has been the favourite perch for this bird in my neighbourhood.

“The excavating started on Saturday morning (above). I was careful to watch without disturbing the bird as well as not bringing undue attention – worried some of my neighbours (having known them for years) are not bird sensitive and may damage the nesting. It knew I was watching but tolerated me.

“The Coppersmith Barbet was a very fast worker. I was busy Saturday and could not watch all the time, but from 9 am to noon it was able to excavate a hole large enough for it to fit in partially.

“And by evening it was able to completely enter the hole (above left). It did not seem to take a break. My watching was intermittent throughout the day (from my home and occasionally using the car as a hide), but every time I looked it was at the hole. It tends to collect a lot of wood chips in its mouth (above right) before discarding them somewhere else.

“By Sunday the hole was sufficiently large for the bird to enter and excavate deeper down. It came out periodically to dispose of the wood chips (above left). It was a hot day and the bird was panting at times (above right). It worked almost the whole day, to complete by evening. By Monday it was seldom seen, but then my observation was limited as I was at work most of the time.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Canning Garden Home, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
12th December 2009

Note:
Barbets generally do not make use of cavities abandoned by other birds but may reuse their old cavities after extending and creating a new opening. If the cavity is not on a vertical trunk or branch, the cavity is excavated on the underside of a slanting branch.

Depending on the softness of the wood and the bill morphology of the barbet concerned, the number of days from start to finish may take 18-30 days (Short & Horne, 2002). This Coppersmith Barbet’s record breaking time in excavating its cavity can be due to the advanced stage of rotting of the branch. There was a large whitish patch on the upper part of the branch, indicating that fungal activity was at an advance stage. It is possible that the branch was already hollow, the barbet only making an opening or enlarging an existing opening.

References:
1. Short, L. L. & J. F. M. Horne, 2001. Toucans, barbets and honeyguides: Ramphastidaer, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae. Oxford University Press. 526 pp.
2. Short, L. L. & J. F. M. Horne, 2002. Family Capitonidae (Barbets). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 140-219.
3. Wells, D.R., 1999. The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London. 648 pp.

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.