Tuas 30Nov19

From KH

Danny and I went Tuas for raptor watch before the season come to a close.

This is how a Japanese Sparrowhawk looks like when it is too high up in the sky...

We were surprised to see an adult male Pin-tailed Whydah. Someone lost a pet?

It was nice to see the Chestnut Munias doing well here. There were a good number of juveniles, as well as adults.

1. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 40
2. Spotted Dove 8
3. Zebra Dove 8
4. Lesser Coucal 2
5. Asian Koel 1
6. cuckoo sp. (Cuculidae sp.) 1 - large cuckoo, skittish, only glimpses
7. dark swiftlet sp. 20
8. House Swift 1
9. Red-wattled Lapwing 8
10. Common Sandpiper 3
11. Gray Heron 1
12. Purple Heron 1
13. Little Egret 1
14. Cattle Egret 1
15. Striated Heron 1
16. Black-winged Kite 3
17. Oriental Honey-buzzard 4
18. Gray-faced Buzzard 1
19. Japanese Sparrowhawk 1
20. Accipiter sp. 1
21. Brahminy Kite 3
22. White-throated Kingfisher 3
23. Blue-tailed Bee-eater 10
24. Sunda Woodpecker 1 - heard
25. Golden-bellied Gerygone 1 - heard
26. Pied Triller 4
27. Black-naped Oriole 4
28. Common Iora 3
29. Malaysian Pied-Fantail 1
30. Brown Shrike 3
31. House Crow 10
32. Common Tailorbird 1 - heard
33. Ashy Tailorbird 1 - heard
34. Zitting Cisticola 3
35. Oriental Reed Warbler 3
36. Lanceolated Warbler 1 - heard
37. Barn Swallow 20
38. Pacific Swallow 5
39. Red-rumped Swallow 1
40. Yellow-vented Bulbul 5
41. Common Myna 4
42. Javan Myna 10
43. Eyebrowed Thrush 2 - seen and heard
44. Asian Brown Flycatcher 2
45. Yellow-rumped Flycatcher 1
46. Scaly-breasted Munia 20
47. Chestnut Munia 20
48. Pin-tailed Whydah 1 - male with long tail
49. Eurasian Tree Sparrow 10
50. Paddyfield Pipit 4

Changi, Pulau Punggol, SBWR 21Nov09

From Con

Here are the two harriers we saw yesterday, I didn't get many pixels and they will look rather brownish in the early morning sunlight. Juvenile EMH

and subadult male EMH.

Just for fun, I notice in my image of the juv Brahminy Kite that it was seen carrying a big insect in one photo and eating it while flying in the other photo.

Here's the two CHE and the female Pin-tailed Whydah:
http://www.pbase.com/con_foley/image/119605926
http://www.pbase.com/con_foley/image/119605940
http://www.pbase.com/con_foley/image/119605954
http://www.pbase.com/con_foley/image/119605992

From Danny

Bird list at CC
1. EMH -2 (JUVENILE and Subadult Male)
2. Black Baza - 20
3. P. Falcon -1
4. Brahminy Kite - 3
5. WBSE - 4
6. CHE - 2
7. BSK - > 4
8. Cisticola - many
9. Pipit - many
10. Whydah - 3 male and 1 female
11. Spotted Doves
12. Red Collared Doves
13. House Crows
14. Large-billed Crows
15. YV Bulbul - rare
16. Common sandpipers
17. Barn swallows
18. Pacific swallows
19. Purple Herons
20. White Throated KF
21. WB Water hens
22. Lesser Coucals
23. Scaly-breasted Munia
24. Black-headed Munia
25. White-headed Munia
26. Asian Glossy Starlings
27. warbler sp - many heard but not seen
28. Yellow bellied Prinia

After Lunch, managed to get into P. Punggol but forested area has shrunk and clearing in progress
1. Black Baza - 2
2. Brahminy Kite - 1
3. CHE - dark morph
4. Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoo - 1
5. Collared Kingfisher
6. Gerygone
7. BN Oriole
But no sign of any Booted Eagle.

Went to SBWR on Sunday late afternoon. Hide 1C flooded. Other than 1 Milky Stork, the usual shanks and sandpipers around but no sign of BB Sandpiper or RN Stints. At Hide 2.1 there were at least 50 LSP but no GSP. Interesting was this relatively smaller Whimbrel with very worn plumages, notice the 3 worn primary shafts, likely an adult male.

Changi 16Aug08

From Con

I think the Pin-tailed Whydah at Changi already has a mate. See my photos at this link.

I wasn't focusing on the female (and she wasn't in the same plane of focus), and we all thought it was a pipit, but I think on closer examination, it really is a female pin-tailed whydah. Besides, if you follow the sequence of photos, she was responding to his display by wiggling her wings. If she was a pipit, you would think she would ignore the display. Other evidence that they are a breeding couple, is the male is in breeding colors, which I think he would lose if he didn't have a mate?

But the problem is the Whydah are brood parasites, so I wonder if they can find a suitable host, perhaps not. They lay their eggs in rather specific bird species, and mimic the call of these species. See these articles below.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin-tailed_Whydah
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W9W-4GV2NNR-8&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fba71960e68a938afd9d77f4bcf62de1

Yamane has this to add

Regarding Whydah, I could check the records in Japan. Almost of the cases are ones that are getting out the cages. I introduce a website...

Now I send my photo that I took on last Monday 11Aug08 in Karuizawa. It's Spot-billed Duck. They bred there also in this season.