An Accident Waiting To Happen - Asian Pied Starling

While on our way to Keang Krachan from airport, we stop by a paddy field for our first bird watching stop.

 One of the very common bird that we saw was this Asian Pied Starling.

 Some of them were foraging for food in the paddy field.

What caught my attention or curiosity was this huge nest! This starling are not picky on the nesting materials, from twig, leaves to plastic bag & raffia string!

Most importantly is the nest is just nest to an almost ripe seed pod of Sand Box Tree . When ripe, pods catapult the seeds as far as 100 meters and I'm sure the birds will get hurt when that happened and the birds will learn through a hard way.

Singapore Botanic Garden

Singapore Botanic Garden is one of my favourite place for birding. Although the migratory birds had left, there are still lots of birds waiting for interested birders. Such as this Blue-Throated Bee-Eater(Merops viridis)

This bee-eater dive in to the water to cool down on a hot afternoon

 The Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense) busy looking for food

Male Common Flameback

Female Common Flameback

I heard the very distinctive call of the Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata) and finally got to take a closer look today right on top of me.

Lineated Barbet (Megalaima lineata)

I have seen White-Crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) many times at Bukit Batuk Nature Park & Kent Ridge Park but never before at Singapore Botanic Garden.

This squirrel was happily carry the fruit of Sand Box Tree without realising that the fruit will split into segments when ripped. The fruit explode when the squirrel starts to chew on it. The loud noise caused the squirrel looses it grips and fell down from the tree. After fell from the tree the squirrel running in circle like a crazy horse. It stops under another tree after running for about 45 seconds. I wonder if there is any squirrel actually killed while taking this 'highly explosive' fruits.

Tree with many names - Hura crepitans

When I first came across this tree, I thought it was a berries tree or some kind. With help from LK, I got its id.

Hura crepitans, with many common names such as monkey's dinner-bell, sand-box tree, possum wood, dynamite tree, etc. It is recognized by the many dark, pointed spines and smooth brown bark. These spines have caused it to be called Monkey no-climb too.

The berries look-alike structure is actually their male flowers that have no petals. Male flowers grow on long spikes; female flowers are solitary.I took the above photo during my trip to Langkawi last December, it have a crab spider on it.The fruit with a shape of pumpkin.
When ripe, pods catapult the seeds as far as 100 meters and is considered an invasive species in some country as their seeds can germinate and grow in deep shade, allowing the plant to invade undisturbed forest. The explosive sound of the ripe fruit as it splits into segments thus won them the name of Dynamite tree. This pumpkins shape fruit was once used for holding fine dry sand used for blotting ink before the introduction of blotting paper, hence the common name "sand box tree.”

The irritant latex is used as a barbasco and arrow poison, and is said to cause ailing teeth to fallout. the latex is used to treat skin diseases, rheumatism, and intestinal worms and was formerly used in the United states to prepare tear gas. The poisonous seeds, eaten by macaws, are used as a purgative in Costa Rica. they are used to poison noxious animals. The dry leaves are eaten by cattle during the dry season. A bark extract is used for leprosy. The wood is used locally in light construction, and for dugouts. Burning wood repels insects. (source from Webster)

I'm seeing this tree is getting popular perhaps due to the shade that the tree provides.