Hi Dick,
I have read that Black-winged Starlings are introduced on St John's island
in Singapore (but don't know where that was in relation to your
location). Although introduced, you may be happy to see these - they are
fast disappearing in their native haunts on Bali, Java and (I think)
Sumatra. Cheers.
Frank
At 11:08 AM 5/15/05 +1000, you wrote:
Hi all
Just back from 3 weeks overseas. Mostly a non-birding holiday but there is
always time to squeeze in a bit, mainly in city parks and gardens. I saw
about 58 species in Europe ( Austria , Southern Germany and Czech Republic
only 3 of which were new to me ) but more on that later.
We stopped over for 2 days in Singapore and I have never birded there
before. We went to Jurong Bird Park which was absolutely fabulous,
particularly the 2 hectare aviary with the 30 metre waterfall and lots of
South American birds. It was great also to see lots of Hornbills , Toucans
and Birds of Paradise. The new Lory Aviary was almost deafening to be
inside.
We also saw a few "wild birds" which were obviously wild but my book
indicates they would be unlikely in Singapore so anyone with local
knowledge, I would appreciate your comments. The 2 in question were Pied
Pigeons, flying over , and 2 Black-winged Starlings which landed on a path
near us and outside any aviaries. I assume all the Black-crowned Night
Herons are captive? We also saw these at night when we did the night tour
of Singapore Zoo. Other birds seen here which were wild birds included
common species such as the Javan and Common Mynah , Spotted Turtle Doves and
Tree Sparrows. A good look at a Stork-billed Kingfisher swallowing a fish
was a highlight and also two Long-tailed Sibias.
Cattle Egrets were seen from the train on the way to the Bird Park.
The next day an early morning walk in Fort Canning Park just off Orchard
Road was productive with a large fruiting Fig Tree swarming with birds. I
think I identified everything feeding there including :
Slender-billed Oriole
Asian Koel ( males & females)
Asian Glossy Starling ( males & females)
Pink-breasted Green Pigeons
Yellow-vented Bulbuls
There also seemed to be a smaller plainer browner pigeon( not a female
Pink-breasted ) feeding on the fruit but I couldn't see it in my book.
Other birds seen in the park were
Collared Kingfisher
Olive-backed Sunbird
Dollarbird
White-bellied Sea Eagle
House Crow
It was almost like being in Australia with many species the same as ours. I
hope to spend more time here and further afield in Malaysia in the future
but at least it was a good introduction to some of the more common species.
Cheers
Dick Jenkin
DUNGOG NSW
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Frank Hemmings
Curator
John T. Waterhouse Herbarium
School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences
University of New South Wales
UNSW SYDNEY 2052
AUSTRALIA
Tel +61 2 9385 3274
Fax +61 2 9385 1558
CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G
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