Our birding trips: planthopper

Upper Seletar, Sungei Buloh 18Jun22

From KH

Danny and I went to Upper Seletar and saw many butterflies, mostly attracted to the Bandicoot Berries (Leea indica).

Common Bluebottles. Tailed Jay

Five Bar Swordtail. Rustic

Cruisers seemed to prefer Pagoda Flower instead.

Common Posy and ants sharing a stalk.

Wasp also attracted to the berries.

Flatid planthopper nymph. Variable Sentinel.

Common Hill Myna feeding on Bhesa paniculata fruits.

A drenched Crimson Sunbird.

Next, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Ruby-cheeked Sunbird couple were nesting. It was reported that this attempt eventually failed.

Apparently, they had had another failed nesting attempt previously under Burmese Fishtail Palm (Caryota mitis) several metres high.

Common Tailorbird was also busy nesting, in a stitched Simpoh Air leaf, less than 1 metre above ground. Interesting that the female was doing all the work in the short 10-15 mins of observation. She brought the material, perched at the stalk before entering the nest from behind, laid the material, and went looking for more.

Pasir Ris Park 14Oct20

From KH

The famous one-eyed Buffy Fish-Owl. and its relative, the Sunda Scops-Owl continued to show well at Pasir Ris Park.

Crested Goshawk nesting on tree.

Collared Kingfisher nesting in a hole in a Rain Tree.

Dragonflies: male Common Chaser and male Scarlet Grenadier.

Butterflies: Chocolate Pansy (top left), Common Tit (top right), Dark Brand Bushbrown (bottom left), and Short Banded Sailor (bottom right).

Carinate Locust is not likely to be confused with other grasshoppers.

Rufous-legged Grasshopper is another unmistakable species.

Japanese Rice Grasshopper Oxya japonica and Spathosternum prasiniferum can be confused, but look out for the latter's distinctive wing and flank patterns.

Short-winged Rice Grasshoppers is very common here and can be told apart from the two species above by a line of pale spots between the thorax and abdomen, short wing, and red hind legs.