012. 7’s Haven for High-fliers

Video uploaded! (bottom)

  

The tall tree that stands at the entrance leading down the pathway  to King Edward 7 Hall is a haven for birds that need a rest before continuing on their flight. On the 17th February, sometime in the afternoon, I spotted this lone kingfisher perching high up on the branches. It was a losing battle, trying to take pictures at 1pm. Over-exposure was the expected outcome. Although it ain’t obvious in this picture, the colouration of the bird was really like the ones of the White-Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis).

 

 

 

 

 

 

One other bird that also takes advantage of the shelter and shade provided by the tree was the Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis). This is my first time seeing it within the NUS campus. It’s fairly distinguishable with its thick red bill. Dollarbirds get their name from the two white circular patches on each underwing that look like the silver dollar coins of the Americans. Looking back at the dates, it seems both these pictures were taken on the same day, but 2 hours apart from each other. Hmm…  curious.

 

 

 

 

H ere’s another gorgeous winged-creature that was spotted sometime at 2pm on the 27th of March.

 

It looks like a parrot, what with its brightly-hued plumage and feathers. Actually, there were a couple of these birds, one is at the bottom left, the other on the upper right (but, it’s concealed by the branch its perching on >_<). So far, it’s definitely one of the prettiest birds that I have seen perching high-up amongst the green foliage. Edit: After consulting LK, these ‘parrots’ are actually Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus). So called because their feathers consist almost every colour of the rainbow. And just as I thought, these pair were indeed escapees. Apparently, there’s always a big flock by the Bunoa Vista MRT (especially during the evenings).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shimmering green under the bright afternoon sun, I spotted the Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) for another time at my hall. This would be the second time since the beginning of the semester. It looks as if it is skipping when it makes a quick run across the tarred road.  Though it is displaced from its habitat by the non-native Changeable Lizard, it looks as if this lil’ guy might be making a comeback.

 

Sometimes too, I would also spot some movement on the tree outside my window. Usually, those that come fluttering about are either the Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) or the Yellow-Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) – in fact, I think there is one in the background of the picture, somewhere towards the left. However this time around, there was this sweet couple.

The male Pink-Necked Green Pigeon (Treron vernans) (left) seemed to be on the watch while the female was probably searching for food. Here, the male sports a vinous-pink nape and neck while the female has a grey-green crown and nape. Coincidentally, about 10 days after this picture was taken, little did I know, I will be seeing these couple again (might not be the same pair but I have my doubts).

And boy was I excited when my friend told me of a pigeon that had made a cosy nest on a tree near one of the blocks in King Edward 7 Hall. So after breakfast, I decided to head down to the special spot. Pretty soon, it seems that this female Pink-Necked Green Pigeon would be expecting some chicks.  She turned her head as a rustling somewhere towards her left grabbed her attention. My heart skipped a beat too when I saw what was making way to its direction.

And it's none other than the male pigeon that has come to see his beloved. In his beak, he held a twig that will be added to their nest. With a gentle hop nearer, he passed her the twig.  (By now, I was hopping excitedly from left to right and back again as I looked for a  good position to get a snapshot of the sweet pair. :P)

With that done, the male pigeon took off to the skies and goes off in search for another sturdy twig. His kids deserve the best from their papa. As soon as he flew off, the female pigeon placed the twig at a spot which probably needed further fortification. Even as the wind blew, I noticed that the nest did not even budge an inch when the tree gently swayed with it. The female pigeon looked unperturbed and did not do so much as blink an eye as she waited for the arrival of her partner.
 

And soon enough, he arrived once more with another twig in beak. It was unfortunate that I could not capture a picture of both the male and female. This was the best among all pictures which had them in motion. The rest were either blurred or the female was totally covered by the leaf. >_> According to the ‘Birds of South-East Asia’, the Pink-Necked Green Pigeons usually form nests akin to flimsy platforms in trees. It certainly looks like it won’t be able to live through one storm, but we shall see. ^^
 

 

In the 30 minutes I spent stalking the birds from the opposite, I noticed the male pigeon flew back and forth approximately 8-10 times to fetch a twig from somewhere else. In this picture, the male waits patiently for his partner to arrange the nest before passing her the next twig.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During one of the rounds when then male flies back and forth with a twig in beak, I decided to take a short footage of the papa in action. Enjoy~~ :) (do bear with the slight shaking as I was trying to get into a better position)

*In the background, you can hear also the continuous cries of the Asian Koel going “koel, koel”