Taking a stroll

Everything just looks so different in the morning light. Cliche as it sounds: the wonders of nature. How upsetting to think that one day, this may all be gone...

Tricksy picture

Walking on, surprise surprise! Two little wild boars! Looked like they were lost though. Male wild boars usually lead solitary lives but females live in small groups. Wonder what happened to momma boar...

Momma?

What the...?

Pacific Swallows (Hirundo tahitica)

Bird A flies towards Bird B.

Bird A attacks Bird B.

Bird B squawks.

Bird A flies away.

Bird C: What did i miss? 

Well, at least it looked that way when we first spotted these Pacific Swallows. 

It was only when we stood there and kept watching that we realised that it was a fledgling up there! Often, when baby birds first leave their nest, they still stick close to mum and dad for a bit. Eventually they leave the comforts of home, unlike some Homo sapiens who stick with their parents and mooch off them FOREVER AND EVER. This period is very important for the young bird. It is only then that it gets to see exactly how this whole hunting business goes about. It learns about all things good, bad, and ugly.

After weeks of confinement in it's cup-shaped mud pelleted nest(The full nesting period lasts from around 35 to 40 days), a completely helpless nestling, it has now emerged to experience all that is life. We wish it well :) 

Snuggling in a corner (Juvenile above)

Pacific swallows can be found from South Asia(Parts of India and Sri Lanka), through Southeast Asia, up till the Pacific islands even! Their large range means they are not considered to be endangered or threatened. 

Unlike Swifts which are very much like flying vacuum cleaners eating anything that crosses their path while flying around in a frenzy, these birds sit and wait patiently until they spot something yummy with their keen eyesight. What follows is a high-speed aerial chase that is simply amazing to watch!

These birds are relatively common, particularly near water bodies. So take some time off, sit back, relax, and watch these little acrobats do their thang. Oh, and dont forget the mosquito repellent :)

Note: We apologize for the bad quality of the video. Our excuses: Bad lighting and a crappy digital camera(On our Christmas wish list: a good camcorder. It is a time of giving ain't it?). Needless to say, no fault of the amateur videographer :P

References

Hails, C. J. (1982). The breeding biology of the Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica in Malaysia. Ibis , 198-211.

Tan, R. (2001). Pacific Swallow. Retrieved June 23, 2010, from Mangrove and wetland wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve: http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/index.htm

Selamat jalan

19th June 2010 Leaving Changi jetty, on our way to Sebana Cove. A relatively pleasant, though uneventful, journey. No Krakens or anything. Can't say we weren't the least bit disappointed...

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, heigh-ho

The big blue, that's not quite blue

What dreams may come

Snack on it #3

Video of Great Hornbills(Buceros bicornis) 

[Video adapted from this website on 17th June 2010]

So far it almost seems (from this blog at least) as though the only hornbill species that exists in this world so blue and green littered with bits of plastic and plenty of BP's petroleum, is the Oriental Pied(Anthracoceros albirostris) with a couple of Black hornbills(Anthracoceros malayanus) thrown in here and there for some variety. So we figured it's about time you met the rest of the Brady bunch.


Homo sapiens meet Buceros bicornis. Otherwise known as, the Great Hornbill. One of the most beautiful of hornbills. If you have been following this blog religiously like the good disciple that you are, you would realise that... wait a minute...these hornbills looks familiar! Well... not these particular hornbills exactly, but this species. That's because they played the lead role in a previous video posted under 'Snack on it #2'! 


Now for the formal introduction. These large birds are about 95 to 105cm and are found in some parts of India, throughout Myanmar and most of "Indochina", Thailand, as well as the northern parts of Malaysia and Sumatra.. What is distinctive about this species is its concave topped casque! Take another look at the video if you don't believe us. It's almost as though someone took a hammer to the topside of the casque.


It also has a pretty distinctive reverberating (Woah! Big word there... say it with us: re-ver-ber-ating) call. It is this reverberating call that inspired it's Malayali name: Malamorakki, which means Mountain shaker. Interesting reverberating(the word is obviously misused here but... it's become our favourite word) name eh?


They are mainly frugivorous(fruits = yummy), as are most hornbills in beautiful Southeast Asia, though it does actively hunt to supplement its diet from time to time. This is particularly known to occur during breeding season. 


Now, back to the video. What you have just witnessed courtesy of some unknown individual whose true identity has been kept secret by the mask that is the internet, is courtship behaviour. First, the male presents some food to the female- courtship feeding. Once she's well fed and happy, he figures it's only fair that he gets to father her babies after all that exhausting fetching of food from a tray provided by staff at the Zoo, so he tries to mount her. She thinks he ain't too bad, I'll give him access to my ovaries(or rather my eggs or he's going to keep bugging me. And... TADAA! They mated! Assuming all went well... around a third of a year later- baby bicornis should have arrived into the wonderful world of cages and gaping visitors to the zoo. 


References
Kemp, A. (1995). The Hornbills. United States: Oxford University Press Inc., New York.