pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans)

Lately, I noticed the sounds of flapping wings amongst the trees outside my study room window. Initially I passed them off as being a flock of Javan Mynahs as they are a common occurrence in the area, along with the Asian Koels, the White Breasted Kingfisher, the Pink Breasted Parakeet and the Golden Orioles. But upon a closer look, I realised that they were the sounds of greenish pigeons feeding on the berries of a tree which I suspect is the Indian Cherry tree the Pithraj tree or Aphanamixis polystachys. This tree is native to India and can grow fairly tall to a height between 20 and 30m. They are fairly common in my area and most are currently fruiting, which explains why there are flocks of different species of birds roosting and feeding near the crown of the tree.

The Pinked-Necked Green Pigeon is a common bird found in the forest, mangroves and parklands. It has also adapted to life in the urban areas, often found around many housing estates. It is often seen moving acrobatically on the branches of trees foraging for fruit. They usually move in small flocks and are often seen in pairs. The male is distinguished from the female by the pinkish-purple upper breast.

Like most pigeons, these pigeons are good seed dispersers for trees like figs and wild cinnamon. Their diet consists mainly fruit from the Ficus benjamina, Singapore Rhododendron, McArthurs' Palm fruit etc. They are largely arboreal and seldom descend to the ground except if it needs a drink. They are often spotted on canopies of trees during the early morning. I have seen pairs of these pigeons high up in the Albizia trees in Bukit Brown cemetery.

In terms of world distribution, they are found mostly in South East Asia from Southern Myanmar to the Malay Peninsula, Philippines and Borneo. They belong to the family of birds called Columbidae and sub-family Treroninae. They are one of a few green pigeons found in Singapore (others include the Thick-Billed Green Pigeon (Treron curvirostra) and by far the most common.

just a typical day out at the reefs

I just couldn't resist posting this up! This was taken during our trip out during our National Day trip to Cyrene. We were actually standing on a sandbar in the middle of the reef. What is not apparent from this photo was the fact that the tide was coming in fairly quickly and in a matter of 15 minutes, the area where we were standing on was swallowed up by the sea.

White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

This is my second post on the kingfisher. The earlier entry can be found here . There is a particular species which frequents the trees behind my backyard. I suspect that there is a nesting couple nearby, perhaps along the grassy slopes. Every day, particularly in the mornings, I would hear the distinct sounds and calls made by the White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis).

The White-throated Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher which is widely distributed in South East Asia. It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches such as cables, tv antennas, tree branches and fences. This is a fairly large species which can grow to about 28cm in length. The adult has a bright blue back, wings and tail. Its head, shoulders, flanks and lower belly are chestnut, and the throat and breast are white. The large bill and legs are bright red. The flight of the White-throated Kingfisher is rapid and direct.

The White-throated Kingfisher begins breeding at the onset of the Monsoons. Males perch on prominent high posts in their territory and call in the early morning. I managed to do two recordings but it took forever to upload on YouTube. Hence I have embedded below, a clip which was recorded and uploaded onto YouTube by Immsl

The nest is usually a tunnel in an earth bank. The nest building begins with both birds flying into a suitable mud wall until an indentation is made where they can find a perch hold. They subsequently perch and continue digging the nest with their bills. A single clutch of 4-7 round white eggs is typical. The eggs take 20–22 days to hatch while the chicks fledge in 19 days.

Fellow nature & bird blogger Shirley Ng has been documenting the courtship of a pair of White-Throated Kingfishers in her posts Chronicle of Mr and Mrs King. In her latest post, she has taken photos of the nest building in action. She has even managed to shoot the male after it was done digging for the day, with soil all over its beak. Classic!

*All images taken with Canon 7D and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Zoom lens*

pilgrimage to kusu island

Kusu Island is one of several islands located south of Singapore. It is better known to the Chinese community in Singapore for the chinese temple Tua Pek Kong (the Merchant God or God of Prosperity). Every year, particularly during the ninth month of the lunar calendar, throngs of worshippers make their annual pilgrimage to the temple. At other times, Kusu Island is usually quiet with the occasional day-tripper(s) out to enjoy the sun and the sand. Yesterday, a yacht had foolishly anchored itself above the reef just outside the lagoon's seawall.

We set off just before sunset and like the day before, it was glorious, despite the very threatening dark rain clouds looming overhead. We approached the island just as the tide was receding.

























The first thing we noticed was that half the lagoon was blanketed with a thick carpet of ribbon sea lettuce (Ulva reticulata). Another seaweed I noticed growing amongst the ribbon sea lettuce was the bubble green seaweed (Boergesenia forbesii). As I ventured deeper into the the lagoon, I came across a proliferation of hard coral such as cauliflower coral (Pocillopora sp), different types of favids, anemone corals (Goniopora sp) and acroporas.






















































There were also quite a few sponges, a haddon's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni), and lots of giant carpet anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea) and magnificent anemone (Heteractis magnifica) both in and outside the lagoon. There was even a large rock at the mouth of the lagoon which was filled with magnificent anemones. Sadly, no clownfish were spotted amongst the tentacles of these anemones.



Chay Hoon pointed me to my 2nd octopus sighting, plus I got to see another sea hare, this time the extraordinary sea hare (Aplysia extraordinaria). I also chanced upon the white-rumped sea cucumber (Actinopyga lecanora) taking cover under a coral. Apart from that I didn't see anything too spectacular or unusual. I've yet also, to see my first blue spotted fantail ray and I will probably have to wait till October when the tides are low enough.



*All images taken with Canon 7D and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro lens, Canon 580 EX II Speedlite, Canon Powershot G10*