“Was fortunately on leave yesterday. Had just come back at lunch time from a walk in a forest reserve when I received a frantic call from three home-schooled young teenagers (one of the perks of being a paediatrician is a lot of contact with children of all ages). Daniel, Shobhana and Matthew wanted me to come right over to their home as a large “snowy white” owl had landed in their garden. These three kids had recently received a copy of my book on garden birds and are, as their dad says, “budding bird watchers in the making”.

“I rushed over and there was a large owl sitting in their compound adjacent to a wall for shade. Had some difficulty with identification at first but later recognised it was a juvenile and the appearance suggested an eagle owl, then ID was easy. It was a juvenile Barred Eagle Owl (Bubo sumatranus sumatranus).

“The kids and parents were ecstatic to see such a delightful, large creature in their home. We were unsure if it was hurt or a bird escaped from captivity. We let it sleep much of the day and then feed it some chicken strips in the evening which it took with gusto. Although it was adult in size (juvenile plumage) it was not able to feed off a surface and still needed food to be brought to it (we used pieces of chicken impaled on a stick to feed it). After being fed it could fly quite well but stayed near by. The juvenile makes soft chirping sounds for food and a loud ‘clack” when upset.

“We called Sein-Chiong Chiu for help as he has nursed injured raptors as well as a juvenile Barred Eagle Owl previously. We collectively decided that although it could fly it was still not able to hunt and would starve on its own. So Chiu brought his cage and a decision was made to nurse it for another 2-3 weeks until it could feed independently. I must say that I have yet to see as skilful a ‘capture’ of a bird with razor sharp talons as done by Chiu. He has given instructions on feeding and care and the saga continues…

“The children have already named the bird ‘Prince’ although some of us were keen on a Harry Potters’s owl’s name ‘Hedgwick’ – but they have the privilege, having discovered it first.

“Many thanks to Chiu for his time, expert advice and gentle care.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh City, Perak, Malaysia
2nd February 2010

Photographer Amit Thakurta documented a Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata) seizing the shuttlecock while he and his friends were playing badminton on the evening of 29th December 2009 in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India.

The images have been posted on the Bird Photography India and Delhibirdpix. Sumit K Sen of Kolkata posted the images in Birds of India and sent the link to KC Tsang after getting the permission of the photographer Amit Thakurta for BESG to repost them here. The account below is Amit’s story as told by Sumit.

“I would like to share an unusual experience with all of you. Some of my friends were playing badminton in a floodlit open court late in the evening. I was there and my camera was with me. Looking around, I saw a Brown Hawk Owl patiently watching the game from a nearby perch (above left).

“Suddenly, while the shuttlecock was in play, the bird made a sortie to catch the shuttle as if it was a prey species. However, it failed on this attempt and went back to the perch and continued observing the activity. This gave me the time to prepare my camera in anticipation of another try. And that attempt took place shortly afterward and the results are presented above.”

The top right image shows the owl seizing the shuttlecock; above left shows the owl flying off with the shuttlecock to its perch; and above right shows it manipulating the shuttlecock.

Natural cavities in trees are the most frequently used nest sites by owls. They also depend on cavities excavated by woodpeckers. The Brown Hawk Owl (Ninox scutulata), a common resident in Singapore as well as an uncommon winter visitor and passage migrant, breeds in mainly forested areas.

According to SK Foo, the Brown Hawk Owl has, over the years, been trying to nest in a particular tree in the MacRitchie forest (left). The bird has not been successful due to human disturbances and the presence of natural predators such as monitor lizards and monkeys. In November 2009 a Brown Hawk-Owl was occupying that particular tree hole and nature wardens were seeing to it that there would be no human disturbances. Hopefully the breeding would be successful.

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

On 15th August 2009, Ben Lee sent in an images of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba) hanging from a discarded fishing line (above left): “A real pitiful sight of a Barn Owl killed as it was trapped by a fishing line in a tree near Punggol Jetty recently. Understand that it was alive for a long while but many people who saw it do not know who to call for help and ended up leaving the poor bird dangling till its last breath.

“Hope those who are into fishing be more accountable and aware of the danger of discarding fishing line or nets left in a tree as it may trap and endanger many wild birds and other wildlife as well.”

On 20th August, barely a week later, Ben sent in another image of a Little Heron (Butorides striatus), similarly strangled, with a note: “Another pitiful sight of a Little Heron hung by the neck till death by a discarded fishing line left on a tree. Picture (above right) shows a decomposed skeletal remain, still with feather. Hope fishing enthusiasts will be more responsible in discarding their disused or unwanted fishing lines or net.”

These two are the fifth and sixth birds strangled by discarded fishing lines we have posted so far - see below.

Images provided by Ben Lee of Nature Trekker Singapore



Terence Ang of My Birding & Raptor Field Trip made an interesting observation when he came across a pair of Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus) in Penang, Malaysia. The male was actively brushing his bill against that of the female. This went on a number of times before the latter decided to move up the branch. The male did not give up as he followed the female who then flew off.

“Could this behaviour observed a part of the courtship?” asked Terence.

Ravens often indulge in mutual mouthing between pairs, less often seen in crows. This may develop into sharp jabs and brief fighting. Such behaviour is termed allobilling.

A pair of Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) posted earlier may be indulging in allobilling but this would depend on what they were doing before and after the act. Unfortunately this was not observed. In some birds like Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), bill-touching occurs when the female tries to coax the male to regurgitate food. But this is not allobilling, nor is mutual transfer of food.

Birds also indulge in allopreening as seen in a pair of White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus).

More observations need to be done to note what the birds are doing before and after touching bills. This is a seldom reported behaviour outside of ravens and crows and we need more observations before we fully understand the phenomenon.

Reference:
Marzluff, J. M. & Angell, T. (2005). In the company of crows and ravens. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. (p166)