December 29, 2012 by mondaymorgue

Feral Pigeon

Feral Pigeon (Columba livia)
Tiong Bahru, 6th October 2012

This carcass of a Feral Pigeon was seen by Jocelyn Yin.

I decided to feature this species as a commemoration of sorts: On 29th December, The Pigeonhole, one of my favourite cafes, closed due to rising rentals and funding issues. It’s a tragic loss, and it’s not only because I loved to hang out there with friends, or that I became friends with the owners, or that I loved the coffee and ciders.

For close to 2 years, The Pigeonhole wasn’t just a cafe to sit down with a cup of coffee and a book, it was a space for the arts and civil society, where small-scale events and exhibitions were held, where ideas were conceived and incubated.

The development of Monday Morgue itself beyond this blog has close connections with The Pigeonhole; it was during the Tanjong Pagar KTM and Green Corridor Open Mic session held there in June 2011 that I did a public talk about the importance of animal carcasses (with plenty of gruesome photos of animal carcasses I’d found along the railway tracks). The lively reception I received from the small audience helped me gain confidence in sharing about this rather niche (and very morbid) interest.

The Pigeonhole was also where I sat down one afternoon at the beginning of May to set up a Facebook page for Monday Morgue, a few weeks before I gave a talk at the Festival of Biodiversity. And I’ve lost track of all the times I wrote posts, or edited and processed photos, or uploaded old shots to Monday Morgue’s Instagram for #DailyDecay, while drinking toffee apple cider or brown latte there.

For now, The Pigeonhole continues to exist as an online entity, and hopefully, the owners will be able to find a new and affordable place to re-establish a physical space. Until then, this is my way of giving thanks for all the #pigeonholememories.

Find out how you can contribute to Monday Morgue too.

December 25, 2012January 2, 2018 by mondaymorgue

Merry Christmas!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope 2013 will be another year of amazing discoveries, meaningful encounters with biodiversity in its myriad forms, and stories to share with all. And of course, a shout-out to all the people who have contributed their photos and shared their sightings of various animal carcasses; I wouldn’t have been able to feature many species if not for you. Good health and happiness to all, and try not to become subjects for Monday Morgue so soon.

December 23, 2012 by mondaymorgue

Asian Koel

Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)
Orchard, 23rd October 2012

These photographs of a dead juvenile Asian Koel were shared by Debby Ng on Instagram. She suspects that it might have been attacked by a Domestic Cat (Felis sylvestris catus).