Death of a juvenile Pink-necked Green Pigeon
By YC Wee, 24th June 2016;

Earlier I hung a bunch of Thousand Fingers Banana or Pisang Seribu (Musa acuminata x balbisiana cv. ‘Pisang Seribu’) in my garden. The ripening fruits attracted Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) and Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus). A few days later I found a juvenile Pink-necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans) perching on the fallen bunch.

While a Javan Myna was feeding on the fruits, this juvenile Green Pigeon simply stayed still. It allowed me to move very near for photography (above).

After a few hours it moved away but stood among the grass. Thinking it may be injured, I again approached it. Stretching my arms slowly, I managed to catch it without much resistance. It would not take water or mashed banana.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Study of a Large-tailed Nightjar carcass
By Thong Chow Ngian, 28th August 2015;

“On 23rd Aug 15, a young friend named Caleb, stopped me and pointed towards the base of a palm tree as we were walking along Jalan Loyang Besar, towards Pasir Ris Carpark A. The pointed wing of a Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus) with a prominent white patch caught his attention. After calling the hotline of a local nature group that collects bird carcasses, I was advised to bury the bird as all their staff were very busy that Sunday afternoon and could not collect the bird specimen. This organisation did ask for the location of the dead bird for their records.

"I decided to bring it home, photographed it; bury it and then do some research of this species. I was once fascinated by the complex and varied camouflage design of this bird, especially the scapular feathers, that I painted it with acrylic paint on canvas in 2009 to study its pattern.

"Here are some interesting facts I discovered in my brief research.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 10. Black-shouldered Kite’s prey and bone fragments in the pellets
By Melinda Chan, Chan Yoke Meng & YC Wee, 6th June 2015;

On 12th February 2015, Melinda Chan collected two pellets from Tuas, around the area where the pair of Black-shouldered Kites (Elanus caeruleus) was nesting.

One pellet was larger than the other: 55x30x25 mm as compared to 21x20x15 mm. The larger was oval and very tightly packed in hairs. The smaller was disk-shaped, 21x20x15 mm, also covered with hairs but not as tightly packed.

The larger pellet was somewhat smaller than an earlier one that contained a complete skull, believed to come from a Common Barn Owl (Tyto alba).

However, on dissecting this larger pellet, there was no skull, only bone fragments from the head that included jaw bones, loose molars, an incisor, vertebrae, etc. But there was no complete skull. So in all probably the pellet came from a kite that had fed on parts of the mouse head and not from an owl.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 8. Black-shouldered Kite feeding chicks
By Chan Yoke Meng & Melinda Chan, 13th April 2015;

The ground below the nest of the Black-shouldered Kites (Elanus caeruleus) is often littered with carcases of mice and numerous pellets. The image above shows a headless mice found below the nest. An intact mouse was also found below the nest.

We believe they fell from the nest when brought in by an adult. We had observed that within minutes on the ground the dead mice would be covered with ants. Thus returning it to the nest would introduce ants and pathogens. Another reason these fallen mice were not retrieved can be that there were no shortage of mice in the area.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 4. Analysis of 14 pellets
By Melinda Chan, Chan Yoke Meng, YC Wee & Wang Luan Keng, 9th March 2015;

Melinda Chan made extensive collections of pellets from a tree-lined avenue in Tuas in January 2015. All pellets were covered with short grey hairs, most probably those of mice. One of these was larger than the rest, from which a near-complete skeleton of a mouse was extracted. This was the only pellet that had an intact skull, all others had bone fragments and numerous loose teeth but no skull.

This large pellet was thought to have come from a Barn Owl (Tyto alba). The others, all smaller, were believed to have come from the nesting pair of Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus), most probably the chicks.

However, an initial examination of four pellets left a big question mark on the identity of the prey – as no skull was found. The presence of numerous molars and bone fragments that had holes of various sizes and shapes, added to the mystery of the prey identity. After all, the mouse bone fragments failed to deliver any loose teeth and these strange “holey” fragments.

Subsequently 14 pellets were examined following earlier protocol. No complete skull was found in any of hese pellets. Many had the same types of fragments found in the earlier four pellets. In addition, pieces of jawbones with some teeth still attached were found and there were numerous loose teeth, molars actually, as well as incisors. An attempt has been made to label some of the bone fragments.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 3. It’s a mouse!
By Melinda Chan, Chan Yoke Meng, YC Wee & Wang Luan Keng, 27th February 2015;

Of the pellets collected from an avenue at Tuas earlier by Melinda Chan , one was prominently larger than the others (70x40mm). It was also darker and more compact. Preparation of the pellet for harvesting of bone fragments followed the earlier protocol.

The number of bone fragments collected totaled 86. These included a skull, lower jaws, dislocated skull bones, ear capsules, shoulder blade, long bones, ribs, vertebrae, foot bones, toes, claws, etc.

The presence of a skull with the characteristic positioning of the incisors and molars, with a wide space in between (above), confirms that the bones belong to that of a rodent, most probably a mouse as the molars have cusps.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 2. Bone fragments in the pellets
By Melinda Chan, Chan Yoke Meng & YC Wee, 23rd February 2015;

On 18th January 2015 four pellets of varying sizes (400-450 x 20-30 mm) and shapes (roundish to oval) were collected by Melinda Chan from Tuas. They were not fresh, probably a number of days old. Each was covered with hairs. They were relatively soft in texture and easily dismantled. One clearly showed the presence of bleached bone fragments on the surface.

The pellets were soaked in water for a few hours. A disinfectant (Dettol) was added as a precaution against the presence of pathogenic organisms. The softened pellets were then broken up and the bleached bone fragments carefully removed with forceps. The fragments were then soaked in hydrogen peroxide overnight to beach them after which they were dried and photographed.

Three of the pellets had a total of 24 bone fragments, with one pellet having only a single piece. The fourth pellet had a high number of 55 fragments. These include jaw bones, tiny teeth, pieces of bones with holes, etc.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Pellets from Tuas: 1. The Pellets
By Melinda Chan & Chan Yoke Meng, 20th February 2015;

The casting of pellet by certain groups of birds is not too well known– see here for more information. After swallowing their prey, these birds regurgitate the indigestible parts that were compacted in the gizzard in a form of pellets. These pellets collect on the ground below the trees where the birds normally perch. Ornithologists collect and study pellets to get information of what the birds had been eating.

Of late, Melinda Chan had been collecting these pellets while Chan Yoke Meng was busy photographing the Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) along the tree-lined avenue in Tuas.

The image of the the exposed pellet clearly shows the bleached bone fragments.

Together with the pellets on the ground were carcasses of half-eaten rodents.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

Myna strangled by fishing line at Lower Peirce
By Derek Liew, 22nd December 2014;

“I was taking a walk at Lower Peirce this morning when I encountered a myna strangled by a fishing line hanging on a Birdnest Fern (Asplenium nidus) growing on the branch of a Rain Tree (Samanea saman) at the car park.

“The myna was removed by a long pruner and we found there was a fishing line tied around its neck.“

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group

A Dead Chick In The Garden…
By YC Wee, 31st August 2014;

In late May, I found a dead chick lying on the ground in my garden. Only a few ants were around to feed on the chick. How it got there is a puzzle. It was definitely not pushed out of the nest, as all the trees were some distance away. A predator could have dumped it there. But then the dead chick was intact, no parts missing. So what was the intention of the predator, if not to feed on it?

I have not been able to identify the dead chick. I have images of a two-day old Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) but it is definitely not a bulbul (centre left). I did encounter dead Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) chicks lying around in the garden some time before. This dead chick may be Javan Myna but I am not sure (centre right). Any opinions?

The dead chick is blind, meaning that the eyes have yet to open. Its entire body is sparsely covered with natal down. These are fluffy, soft, vaneless feathers that lack a feather shaft. Natal down is present only at the time of hatching. Thus this chick is most probably about one or two days old.

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Source: Bird Ecology Study Group