Brown-throated Sunbird & Spittlebug

I was at Ubin yesterday morning and saw this Brown-throated sunbird feed on spittlebug. Obviously, the defense mechanism or the strategy of this spittlebug failed to prevent the sunbird from eating it. The sunbird perch just above the location of the spitterbug.The sunbird have a closer look at the spitterbug.The sunbird drink the juice not sure if the sunbird do that in order to reduce the froth so that the bug can be exposed.

The sunbird must have managed to catch the spiterbug together with the froth.The sunbird finish the whole thing - the bug and the froth all together.
The sunbird continue to finish every bits of the froth.

The mass of froth are produced by the nymphs of spitterbugs to hide them away from their predator. It also act as an insulator against heat and to prevent them from drying out. Spittlebugs are related to leafhoppers, but have a broader body and they have faces that resemble frogs and thus are call froghoppers too.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees build their nest in wood burrow hence got their name.

Carpenter bees is one of the largest bee in the world and they are solitary insects that do not form colonies. They may be large and heavy, but they have no problem maneuver their body from flower to flower.Despite their size, they are important pollinators as well.

Touchdown Mania

I was backed at Ubin this morning and looks like the durian season is about to end soon. If you prefer original 'taste' kind of durians, you got to go Ubin fast before it is over. Well, Ubin is not just for durians...

The photos below were taken this morning all on the birds landing.A stylish landing by Stork-billed Kingfisher (Halcyon capensis)

Series of Blue-throated Bee-eaters (Merops viridis)

Birds - Do they saves?

Do birds practice savings when food is abundant? What will you do if you can’t finish you food? Do you dispose the balance food away or do you keep it for later consumption?

I happened to witness this crow got this big piece of meat and was happily consuming it on the tree branch.Perhaps this piece of meat is too big to finish at one go. The crow keeps the balance meat on the branch nearby.Using the bill to push and squeeze the meet, the bird managed to compress the meat to just a small lump and stuck on the tree branch to prevent it from falling.

Also, read more about it on BESG site.

Lake Monster in Ubin?

Like many legends or stories of Lake monster such as Loch Ness, do we have one in Singapore?The photo above were taken at Pulau Ubin using a 500mm lens. With naked eyes, it looks exactly a lake monster!!!
Is an oversized monitor lizard sticking out the head from the water while swimming!

Do you want a lake monster in Singapore? :-)

Myna - Common or Javan?

Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) was one of the very common birds in Singapore once but was loosing grounds to their cousin Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus).

I find Common Myna more and more photogenic thus decided to do a posting just on Common Myna. This good looking bird have a black head, brown body, bright yellow beak, eye patch, and legs. Below are some of the photos I took last Sunday when I visits Pulau Ubin with Ling.
The Common Myna is just so beautiful when capture on photos.

This is the same photo that I posted on Monday showing a thirsty Myna drinking water.
Since birds don't carry tissue paper or handkerchief, they just wipe their beak on the tree branches after drinking water.

Another photo of Common Myna on flight.From far both Common & Javan Myna looks very similar. Just in case you are not sure which is which, this is the Javan Myna, without the very distinctive eye patch. Does it looks like a big bully?

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In most places (nature area) like this, it will be good if there are network that we can log on to check the huge resources available such as Google and MSN or email friends/experts to find out the facts/info. We can even search photos library such as Flickr to compare what we just spotted...

"Live Life Online Anywhere with SingTel BroadBand on Mobile Youth Plan! Visit www.singtel.com/youth for details."

Seeing Is Believing?

Seeing is believing! Do you really think so? What we see is true?

Study the photos below carefully.... and find out the answer below.

您是否真正地认同眼见为实？ 仔细地观察以下的相片。答案在页底端

Nothing wrong with the birds, the tree branches nor the water. All of them are real except the photos are placed upside-down! Now, Do you still always believe what you see?

鸟儿，树枝，水都是真的。除了相片被颠倒的安置以外，其他都是真实的。你现在仍然相信眼见为实吗？

Blue-throated Bee-eater Feeding

This is the follow-up posting on the Blue-throated Bee-eater that I have posted on Tuesday. As I process my photos, I realised that all dragonfly caught are for the juvenile only. The bee-eater alternate the hunting between dragon fly & bees.The adult bee-eater (on the left with longer tail) feed the juvenile with dragonfly.
The juvenile bee-eater with the mouth wide open waiting for the offer from the adult bird. The juvenile is adjusting the dragonfly before swallow it down the throat.
The juvenile is trying to swallow another dragonfly and the adult is now back with bee in the mouth and knock the bee against the perch before eating it.
The bee-eater come back with another bee

The juvenile was waiting but the adult refuse to offer the bee to the juvenile
The adult bee-eater even move to another side to prevent the juvenile from getting the bee.

From this observations, I can only think of 3 possibilities of why the adult blue-throated bee-eater feed only dragonfly to the juvenile:

1. The size of the dragonfly is bigger thus provide more food.
2. The dragonfly can provide additional nutrient that the bees can't.
3. To prevent the juvenile from getting stung by the bees.

I will have to find out more as I am also interested to find out the real reason. Will update here when I have more info.

First posted on 11 June 09 1:12PM

Updates: Read more on BESGroup Site for latest updates!

‘Bee’ry Lucky Day!

The Bee-eaters are known of feeding on stinging insects such as bees, wasps, hornets, ants, etc and that’s how they got their name.

I was at Ubin last Saturday and saw this very special moment. Confrontation between bees and a Blue-throated Bee-eater! The bees realized he got himself a big trouble when flying cross the Bee-eater path. Guess what, the Bee-eater give it a miss! … What a lucky day for this bee!

The Blue-throated Bee-eater (Merops viridis) just stare at the bee and give it a miss and go for dragonfly instead.

Uncommon, Common Myna

Perhaps Common Myna is too common that we ignore the facts that they are beautiful bird to watch too. Although Common Myna do not have colourful feathers, when capture on photos with high speed, it is beautiful!

Photo above were taken in Ubin showing Common Myna prepare to land from flight . Isn't Common Myna beautiful?

Strange Behavior of Asian Glossy Starling

I was puzzled by the strange behaviour of this Asian Glossy Starling that I observed for about 2 hours at Pulau Ubin on Sunday.

During my 2 hours observation, the Starling was throwing away the food near the nest for at least 4 times by regurgitating it.

Just don't understand why the bird even care to carry the food back to their nest just to dump them away? Isn't this is wasting of energy? If they are not hungy or if the food is not suitable, why do they still want to fly back with it and later throw it away?

According to BESGroup website , the bird regurgitate the seeds to reduce reduce the weight and volume of material that must pass through the gut. However, the Starling is throwing the whole fruits and not just the seeds. Why do they want to do that??

29th May 09 Updates ( from BESG )

After consulting bird behaviour specialist John Vickerman, there are 2 possible scenarios.... (read more from BESG)