Bird Encounters (Circuit Breaker Edition)
Written by Mr William Teng with contributions by Ms Minnoli and Randall Ho (4C)
We hope everyone is coping well during this Circuit Breaker. Some of you might have had the opportunity to go outdoors for a breather and to exercise and you might have noticed that we do have an abundance of wildlife including bird species that we do not commonly see. I have seen a Sunda Woodpecker, two different species of kingfisher, a species of parrot, a long-tailed shrike, Asian glossy starlings, a Javan munia and many more (these may be featured in a future post).
Here is a video of a bird taken by Ms Minnoli along the park connector. It appears to be a heron or egret and it seems to be feeding. Unfortunately, the poor lighting makes it hard for us to identify the bird.
Video credit: Ms Minnoli
Ms Minnoli also took a photo of a dead bird and we think that it might be the Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo.
Photo credit: Ms Minnoli
Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo
Scientific Name: Chrysococcyx basalis
Malay Name: Sewah-Kilat Australia
Chinese Name: 霍氏金鹃
Latin etymology: Chrysococcyx (combination of the Ancient Greek χρυσος khrusos meaning "gold" and κοκκυξ kokkux "cuckoo") basalis ("base")
Singapore Birds Project states that this bird breeds in Australia but its population may disperse northwards to regions like Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore during winter in the southern hemisphere. At this point in time, it is autumn but it could be possible that this bird might have migrated a little earlier if it is indeed a Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo (shown below). Do you think that the bird Ms Minnoli found is indeed a cuckoo?
Photo credit: Tan Ghim Cheong (via Singapore Birds)
References:
This is a photograph of a dead Asian openbill (a type of stork) being fed on by weaver ants. The carcass was gone the next day and Randall suspects that it could have been eaten by feral dogs or monitor lizards. You might have read about this bird in our previous post (link). The Asian openbill has increasingly become a common sight in our parks and waterparks.
Photo credit: Randall Ho
If you are feeling bored, do visit River Birds to hear the bird calls of river birds in Spain. Just click on each bird to hear its call. Thank you, Ms Minnoli for sharing it.
Do be observant as you are walking. If you have any photos to share, please drop a comment below or approach the Environment Committee teachers.
