10-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - GLOSSY IBIS (Plegadis falcinellus)

The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus ) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.

The Glossy ibis is a medium-sized wading bird. They have long, slender, down-curved bill and magnificent plumage with shiny feathers. Breeding adults have reddish-brown bodies and shiny bottle-green wings. Non-breeders and juveniles have duller bodies. These birds have dark facial skin bordered above and below in blue-gray (non-breeding) to cobalt blue (breeding) and red-brown legs.

Population size

230,000-2.2Mln

Life Span

26 years

Weight

485-970

goz

g oz 

Length

48-66

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

80-105

cminch

Glossy ibises are carnivores (insectivores, piscivores). They feed on insects such as aquatic beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, flies and caddisflies. Their diet also includes leeches, mollusks, crustaceans and occasionally fish, amphibians, lizards, small snakes, and nestling birds.

The Glossy ibis is the most widespread ibis species; it breeds in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America birds from north of the Carolinas winter farther south. Though generally suspected to be a migratory species in India, the Glossy ibis is a resident in western India. Birds from other populations may disperse widely outside the breeding season. Glossy ibises inhabit wetlands with tall dense stands of emergent vegetation such as reeds, papyrus or rushes, and low trees or bushes. They show a preference for marshes at the margins of lakes and rivers but can also be found at lagoons, flood-plains, wet meadows, swamps, reservoirs, sewage ponds, paddies, and irrigated farmland. These birds are less commonly found in coastal locations such as estuaries, deltas, salt marshes, and coastal lagoons.

Glossy ibises are diurnal birds. They are gregarious and nest in colonies. When not nesting, flocks of over 100 individuals may occur on migration, and during the winter or dry seasons, these birds usually forage in small flocks. Glossy ibises often roost communally at night in large flocks, with other species, occasionally in trees which can be some distance from wetland feeding areas. Glossy ibises hunt their prey by sight and touch. When foraging on land, they pick and glean insects or grain but when feeding along the shore, they use their long bills to probe into the substrate or mud. Glossy ibises are able to swim, however, they generally try to avoid deep water. Sounds made by these rather quiet birds include a variety of croaks and grunts; they also make a hoarse 'grrrr' when breeding.

Glossy ibises are monogamous and form pairs. Both the male and the female construct the nest which is located in dense stands of emergent vegetation, low trees or bushes. The nest is usually a platform of twigs and vegetation positioned at least 1 m (3.3 ft) above water, sometimes up to 7 m (23 ft) in tall. The female lays 3 to 4 eggs (occasionally 5) which are incubated by both parents for 20-23 days. The chicks are able to leave the nest after about 7 days. They fledge about 28 days after hatching but the parents continue to feed them for another 6 or 7 weeks until they become fully independent.

11-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer montanus)

The Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult. This sparrow breeds over most of temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia, where it is known as the tree sparrow, and it has been introduced elsewhere including the United States, where it is known as the Eurasian tree sparrow or German sparrow to differentiate it from the native unrelated American tree sparrow. Although several subspecies are recognised, the appearance of this bird varies little across its extensive range.

The Eurasian tree sparrow's untidy nest is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building or the disused nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow feeds mainly on seeds, but invertebrates are also consumed, particularly during the breeding season. As with other small birds, infection by parasites and diseases, and predation by birds of prey take their toll, and the typical life span is about two years.

The Eurasian tree sparrow is widespread in the towns and cities of eastern Asia, but in Europe it is a bird of lightly wooded open countryside, with the house sparrow breeding in the more urban areas. The Eurasian tree sparrow's extensive range and large population ensure that it is not endangered globally, but there have been large declines in western European populations, in part due to changes in farming practices involving increased use of herbicides and loss of winter stubble fields. In eastern Asia and western Australia, this species is sometimes viewed as a pest, although it is also widely celebrated in oriental art.

11-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

The common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World.

The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some regions.

The closely related common gallinule of the New World has been recognized as a separate species by most authorities, starting with the American Ornithologists' Union and the International Ornithological Committee in 2011.

The moorhen is a distinctive species, with predominantly black and brown plumage, with the exception of a white under-tail, white streaks on the flanks, yellow legs and a red frontal shield. The bill is red with a yellow tip. The young are browner and lack the red shield. The frontal shield of the adult has a rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. In the related common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) of the Americas, the frontal shield has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red area.

11-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

The Little egret (Egretta garzetta) is small elegant heron in the family Ardeidae. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. At one time common in Western Europe, the Little heron was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in Northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase.

The plumage of the Little egret is normally entirely white, although there are dark forms with largely bluish-grey plumage. In the breeding season, the adult has two long plumes on the nape that form a crest. These plumes are about 150 mm (6 in) and are pointed and very narrow. There are similar feathers on the breast, but the barbs are more widely spread. 

There are also several elongated scapular feathers that have long loose barbs and may be 200 mm (8 in) long. During the winter the plumage is similar but the scapulars are shorter and more normal in appearance. The bill is long and slender and it and the lores are black. There is an area of greenish-grey bare skin at the base of the lower mandible and around the eye which has a yellow iris. The legs are black and the feet yellow. Juveniles are similar to non-breeding adults but have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet, and may have a certain proportion of greyish or brownish feathers. The subspecies nigripes differs in having yellow skin between the bill and eye, and blackish feet. During the height of courtship, the lores turn red and the feet of the yellow-footed races turn red.

11-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

The Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a large long-legged wading bird of the heron native to Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It lives in wetland areas and feeds on various aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water.

The plumage of the Grey heron is largely ashy-grey above, and greyish-white below with some black on the flanks. Adults have a head and neck white with a broad black supercilium that terminates in the slender, dangling crest, and bluish-black streaks on the front of the neck. The scapular feathers are elongated and the feathers at the base of the neck are also somewhat elongated. Immature birds lack the dark stripe on the head and are generally duller in appearance than adults, with a grey head and neck, and a small, dark grey crest. The pinkish-yellow beak is long, straight, and powerful, and is brighter in color in breeding adults. The iris is yellow and the legs are brown and very long.

Grey herons occur in most parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Over much of their range, these birds are resident, but populations from the more northerly parts of Europe migrate southwards; some remain in Central and Southern Europe, and others travel on to Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Grey herons can be found anywhere with suitable watery habitats that can supply their food. Although most common in the lowlands, they also occur in mountain tarns, lakes, reservoirs, large and small rivers, marshes, ponds, ditches, flooded areas, coastal lagoons, estuaries, and seashore. They sometimes forage away from water in the pasture, and can even be found in desert areas, hunting for beetles and lizards.  

10-3-2016 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SARDINIAN WARBLER (MALE) (Sylvia melanocephala)

The Sardinian warbler (Curruca melanocephala ) is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region. Like most Curruca species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has a grey back, whitish underparts, black head, white throat and red eyes. Plumages are somewhat variable even in the same locality, with the intensity of a reddish hue on upper- and/or underside that varies from absent to (in some subspecies) pronounced. The female is mainly brown above and buff below, with a grey head. The Sardinian warbler's song is fast and rattling, and is very characteristic of the Mediterranean areas where this bird breeds.

It breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and just into Asia in Turkey and the eastern end of the Mediterranean. This small passerine bird, unlike most "warblers", is not particularly migratory, but some birds winter in north Africa, and it occurs as a vagrant well away from the breeding range, as far as Great Britain. 

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3-6 eggs are laid. Like most "warblers", it is insectivorous, but will also take berries and other soft fruit.

The Sardinian Warbler feeds primarily on arthropods, but it also consumes a large amount of fruit and berries in autumn and winter, and nectar too. Invertebrates include insects and larvae of numerous species, spiders and small snails.

Compact, robust, and big-headed warbler. Males are striking with a black hood contrasting with whitish throat, gray back, and red eyering. Females duller with a gray hood, white throat, and buff body. Common in many typical Mediterranean habitats including tall bushes, open woodlands, gardens, coastal scrub, and plantations; also in oases, acacia woodlands, and scrubby desert in non-breeding range. Usually first detected by its song, a fast, angry-sounding rattling "ctret-tret-tret-tret-tret" or "tetwtweer-tik-tik-tik" with whispering in between. The call is a dry "tseck."

10-3-2016 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WHITE WAGTAIL (Motacilla alba)

White wagtails breed throughout Eurasia, only being absent in the Arctic. They also breed in the mountains of Morocco and western Alaska. These birds are residents in the milder parts of their range such as western Europe and the Mediterranean, but migratory in much of the rest of their range. Northern European breeders winter around the Mediterranean and in tropical and subtropical Africa, and Asiatic birds move to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Birds from the North American population also winter in tropical Asia. White wagtails occupy a wide range of habitats but are absent from deserts. They inhabit grasslands, seashores, rocky shorelines, sand beaches, tidepools, rivers, lakeshores, farmland, gardens, and parks. They are also often found in towns and villages.

The White wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small insectivorous bird of the open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. In urban areas, it has adapted to foraging on paved areas such as car parks. It is the national bird of Latvia and has been featured on the stamps of several countries.

The White wagtail is a slender bird with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. There are a number of other subspecies, some of which may have arisen because of partial geographical isolation, such as the resident British and Irish form, the pied wagtail M. a. yarrellii, which now also breeds in adjacent areas of the neighbouring European mainland. The Pied wagtail exchanges the grey colour of the nominate form with black (or very dark grey in females), but is otherwise identical in its behaviour. Other subspecies, the validity of some of which is questionable, differ in the colour of the wings, back, and head, or other features. Some rraces show sexual dimorphism during the breeding season. As many as six subspecies may be present in the wintering ground in India or Southeast Asia and here they can be difficult to distinguish.

1-12-2015 ANGKOR WAT, CAMBODIA - COMMON PARASOL DRAGONFLY (Neurothemis fluctuans)

Neurothemis fluctuans, the red grasshawk, common parasol or grasshawk dragonfly, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread in many Asian countries.

The dragonfly actually is a predatory insect that eats other smaller insects as its food such as mosquito, bee, wasp and ant. The dragonfly has the perfect ability in flying that inspired engineer to design air crafts based on its body structure and wings.

9-3-2016 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SARDINIAN WARBLER (FEMALE) (Sylvia melanocephala)

The Sardinian warbler (Curruca melanocephala ) is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region. Like most Curruca species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has a grey back, whitish underparts, black head, white throat and red eyes. Plumages are somewhat variable even in the same locality, with the intensity of a reddish hue on upper- and/or underside that varies from absent to (in some subspecies) pronounced. The female is mainly brown above and buff below, with a grey head. The Sardinian warbler's song is fast and rattling, and is very characteristic of the Mediterranean areas where this bird breeds.

It breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and just into Asia in Turkey and the eastern end of the Mediterranean. This small passerine bird, unlike most "warblers", is not particularly migratory, but some birds winter in north Africa, and it occurs as a vagrant well away from the breeding range, as far as Great Britain.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3-6 eggs are laid. Like most "warblers", it is insectivorous, but will also take berries and other soft fruit.

8-3-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - GREY WAGTAIL (Motacilla cinerea)

This slim wagtail has a narrow white supercilium and a broken eye ring. The upperparts are grey and the yellow vent contrasting with whitish underparts makes it distinctive. The breeding male has a black throat that is edged by whitish moustachial stripes. They forage singly or in pairs on meadows or on shallow water marshes. They also use rocks in water and will often perch on trees. They have a clear sharp call note and the song consists of trills.

The breeding season is April to July and the nest is placed near fast running streams or rivers on an embankment between stones and roots. The male in display, makes short flights up into the air and descends slowly with fluttering flight accompanied by a rapid series of chipping high notes. In Europe the nests are often made in holes in manmade structures. The clutch consists of 3–6 speckled eggs and multiple broods may be raised with declining numbers in the clutch in subsequent broods. The usual clutch size is five in Ireland and the breeding success is about 80% with predation of eggs or chicks being the main cause of breeding failure. The Canary Islands population typically have smaller clutches and the breeding season is not as short and well marked as in populations at higher latitudes. The incubation period is about two weeks with chicks fledging within a fortnight. They live for a maximum of 8 years in the wild.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - GREATER BLUE EARED STARLING (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)

The greater blue-eared starling or greater blue-eared glossy-starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus) is a bird that breeds from Senegal east to Ethiopia and south through eastern Africa to northeastern South Africa and Angola. It is a very common species of open woodland bird, and undertakes some seasonal migration.

The greater blue-eared starling is a 22 cm long, short tailed bird. This starling is glossy blue-green with a purple-blue belly and blue ear patch. Its iris is bright yellow or orange. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller and has blackish brown underparts.

The populations from southern Kenya southwards are smaller than northern birds and are sometimes considered to be a separate subspecies, L. c. sycobius.

The lesser blue-eared starling is similar to this species, but the blue of the belly does not extend forward of the legs.

The greater blue-eared starling has a range of musical or grating calls, but the most familiar is a nasal squee-ar.

The greater blue-eared starling nests in holes in trees, either natural or excavated by woodpeckers or barbets. It will also nest inside the large stick nests of the sacred ibis or Abdim's stork. A nest will include three to five eggs, which are usually greenish-blue with brown or purple spots, and hatch in 13–14 days. The chicks leave the nest roughly 23 days after hatching.

This species is parasitised by the great spotted cuckoo and occasionally by the greater honeyguide.

The greater blue-eared starling is highly gregarious and will form large flocks, often with other starlings. Its roosts, in reedbed, thorn bushes, or acacia, may also be shared.

Like other starlings, the greater blue-eared starling is an omnivore, taking a wide range of invertebrates, seeds, and berries, especially figs, but is diet is mainly insects taken from the ground.

It will perch on livestock, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and occasionally removing ectoparasites.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SAFFRON FINCH (FEMALE) (Sicalis flaveola)

The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America that is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin. They have a wide distribution in Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called "canario de tejado" or "roof canary"), western Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil (where it is called "canário-da-terra" or "native canary"), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Panama, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Although commonly regarded as a canary, it is not related to the Atlantic canary. Formerly, it was placed in the Emberizidae but it is close to the seedeaters.

3-12-2016 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SOUTHERN BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK (Dendrocygna autumnalis ssp. autumnalis)

The black-bellied whistling duck is sometimes described as part goose and part duck, because of its rather peculiar physical features and behaviors. Like many goose species, black-bellied whistling ducks graze on grasses in upland areas, but they also nest in tree cavities similar to wood ducks. This species is highly gregarious, adaptable to using urban areas and highly recognizable due to its pink bill and legs.

Black-bellied whistling-ducks have an overall dark body, contrasting with their bright pink bill and legs. The breast is a chestnut brown and the belly is black. Male and female are similar in appearance. Young birds are duller in appearance and lack the pink bill.

Black-bellied whistling ducks inhabit freshwater swamps, marshes and costal lagoons. They favor habitat with dense vegetation and surrounded by tree thickets, partially due to their nests usually being built in tree cavities. This helped to earn them the nickname tree ducks. The species has become well adapted to feeding in agricultural fields and, as a result, large flocks can be seen foraging in pastures and open fields. Although specific management activities for whistling ducks on national wildlife refuges are currently limited, these cavity-nesting ducks will readily use wood duck boxes after they are done nesting. Artificial nesting boxes probably have a substantial benefit for this species in the northern portion of their range.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SAFFRON FINCH (Sicalis flaveola)

The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America that is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin. They have a wide distribution in Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called "canario de tejado" or "roof canary"), western Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil (where it is called "canário-da-terra" or "native canary"), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Panama, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Although commonly regarded as a canary, it is not related to the Atlantic canary. Formerly, it was placed in the Emberizidae but it is close to the seedeaters.

The saffron finch was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla flaveola. The specific epithet is a diminutive of the Latin flavus meaning "golden" or "yellow". The type locality is Suriname. The saffron finch is now placed in the genus Sicalis that was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.

The male is bright yellow with an orange crown which distinguishes it from most other yellow finches (the exception being the orange-fronted yellow finch). The females are more difficult to identify and are usually just a slightly duller version of the male, but in the southern subspecies S. f. pelzelni they are olive-brown with heavy dark streaks.

Typically nesting in cavities, the saffron finch makes use of sites such as abandoned rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) nests, bamboo branches and under house roofs - this species is tolerant of human proximity, appearing at suburban areas and frequenting bird tables. They have a pleasant but repetitious song which, combined with their appearance, has led to them being kept as caged birds in many areas. Males are polygamous, mating with two females during the nesting season, and territorial, which has led to the species being used for blood sporting with two males put in a cage in order to fight.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SCARLET IBIS (Eudocimus ruber)

The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red ibis, (Eudocimus ruber) is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable. It is one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago, and its Tupi–Guarani name, guará, is part of the name of several municipalities along the coast of Brazil.

This medium-sized wader is a hardy, numerous, and prolific bird, and it has protected status around the world. Its IUCN status is Least Concern. The legitimacy of Eudocimus ruber as a biological classification, however, is in dispute. Traditional Linnaean taxonomy classifies it as a unique species, but some scientists have moved to reclassify it as a subspecies of a more general American ibis species, along with its close relative, the American white ibis (Eudocimus albus).

3-12-2015 SINGAPORE - LONG TAILED MOCKINGBIRD (Mimus longicaudatus)

The long-tailed mockingbird (Mimus longicaudatus) is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.

The long-tailed mockingbird has four subspecies, the nominate Mimus longicaudatus longicaudatus, M. l. platensis, M. l. albogriseus, and M. l. maranonicus.

The long-tailed mockingbird is 27 to 29.5 cm (10.6 to 11.6 in) long and weighs 54 to 79 g (1.9 to 2.8 oz) with an average of 66.6 g (2.35 oz). Males are slightly larger than females. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a broad white supercilium and a black stripe through the eye that touches a black patch on the white cheek. Their crown and upperparts are brownish gray with darker streaks. The wings and long tail are mostly dusky brown, with patches of white that show conspicuously in flight. The throat, belly, and vent area are white and the breast and flanks buff to dull brown. Juveniles are similar to adults with the addition of streaks on the chest.

M. l. albogriseus is smaller and grayer than the nominate, and the white on its tail tips is more extensive. M. l. platensis is similar to albogriseus but closer to the nominate in size and has a longer bill. M. l. maranonicus is very similar to the nominate and may not truly be a separate subspecies from it.

The long-tailed mockingbird is found mostly along the Pacific coasts of Ecuador and Peru. The nominate M. l. longicaudatus inhabits most of the length of western Peru. M. l. albogriseus is in southwestern Ecuador, from central Manabí Province to Peru. M. l. platensis is found only on Isla de la Plata, about 30 km (19 mi) off the coast of Manabi. M. l. maranonicus is the anomaly; it is found inland along the upper Río Marañón in northwestern Peru.

The long-tailed mockingbird inhabits coastal desert scrub, arid woodland, and hedgerows and tree groves in agricultural areas. It is also found in gardens and parks. The coastal subspecies range from sea level to 1,900 m (6,200 ft), while M. l. maranonicus is found as high as 2,450 m (8,040 ft).

The long-tailed mockingbird primarily forages on the ground and hops and glides between feeding sites. It is omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates (both terrestrial and marine), fruits, and berries. It occurs in loose groups in the non-breeding season.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SUN CONURE (Aratinga solstitialis)

While their colors are somewhat similar to the equally popular Jenday Conure when they are juveniles, Sun Conures are widely regarded as the most colorful of all the Conure species. This is because a mature Sun Conure sports plumage in a variety of shades of red, yellow, green, orange, blue, and in some birds, tones of violet.

Another distinctive feature of the Sun Conure is the bare white patches of skin around the eyes, known as "eye rings." These patches are similar to the bare patches commonly noted in Macaw species and are seen by many as an attractive feature for a parrot to have.

Sun Conures are one of the most intelligent birds out there, with excellent problem-solving skills and an impressive ability to mimic speech. They are quick learners and can be taught tricks and commands. They are also highly adaptable, making them fantastic pets for people from all walks of life.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - WOOD DUCK (MALE) (Aix sponsa)

The Wood duck (Aix sponsa) is a species of perching duck from North America. The drake of this species is known to be one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. In 1918 the Wood duck was near extinction as a result of habitat loss and hunting. Wildlife management has fortunately protected this species so that it is amongst the most common ducks today in the eastern US.

The Wood duck is among the most stunningly beautiful of all water birds. Males are iridescent green and chestnut, with ornate patterns on almost every feather, while the elegant female has a delicate white pattern around her eye and a distinctive profile. These birds inhabit wooded swamps, where their nests are in holes up in trees or in the nest boxes around lake margins. These are one of a few duck species that have strong claws to perch on branches and grip bark.

Wood ducks are widespread across North America. Larger population breeds in Manitoba east to Nova Scotia, also south to Florida, Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, and Cuba. There is also a small Pacific coast population that breeds from British Columbia in Canada to California in the United States. These birds are year-round residents in parts of their southern range, but the northern populations migrate south for the winter. They overwinter in the southern United States near the Atlantic Coast. Wood ducks inhabit wooded areas on the banks of lakes, freshwater ponds, quiet rivers, wooded swamps, marshes, and creeks.

Wood ducks are diurnal birds and sleep on the water, except for females with ducklings. They feed by walking on land or dabbling, meaning they search for food from the surface of the water. They are social and often gather in flocks in the evening. They also migrate in small flocks or pairs. Although not territorial, Wood ducks will protect their mates by chasing, pecking, and hitting. Such battles are often short. When threatening another bird, they will jerk and jab with their beaks. Males are assumed to be dominant over females, and adults over young birds. Adults have 12 calls and ducklings have 5. Most calls made by adults are warning calls or to attract mates. Males and females both have pre-flight calls, and females have calls for locating their mate and calling their ducklings. Ducklings can make calls at 2 to 3 days old, have an alarm, threatening, and contact calls.

4-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SAFFRON FINCH (MALE) (Sicalis flaveola)

The male is bright yellow with an orange crown which distinguishes it from most other yellow finches (the exception being the orange-fronted yellow finch). The females are more difficult to identify and are usually just a slightly duller version of the male, but in the southern subspecies S. f. pelzelni they are olive-brown with heavy dark streaks.

The saffron finch is now placed in the genus Sicalis that was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.

Typically nesting in cavities, the saffron finch makes use of sites such as abandoned rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) nests, bamboo branches and under house roofs - this species is tolerant of human proximity, appearing at suburban areas and frequenting bird tables. They have a pleasant but repetitious song which, combined with their appearance, has led to them being kept as caged birds in many areas. Males are polygamous, mating with two females during the nesting season, and territorial, which has led to the species being used for blood sporting with two males put in a cage in order to fight.

4-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - SUN CONURE (Aratinga solstitialis)

The sun conure (Aratinga solstitialis), also known as the sun parakeet, is a medium-sized, vibrantly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. The adult male and female are similar in appearance, with black beaks, predominantly golden-yellow plumage, orange-flushed underparts and face, and green and blue-tipped wings and tails. Sun conures are very social birds, typically living in flocks. They form monogamous pairs for reproduction, and nest in palm cavities in the tropics. Sun conures mainly feed on fruits, flowers, berries, blossoms, seeds, nuts, and insects. Conures are commonly bred and kept in aviculture and may live up to 30 years. This species is currently threatened by loss of habitat and trapping for plumage or the pet trade. Sun conures are now listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Sun parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) is a medium-sized, brightly colored parrot native to northeastern South America. Sun parakeets are very social birds, typically living in flocks. They form monogamous pairs for reproduction and nest in palm cavities in the tropics. They are commonly bred and kept in aviculture and may live up to 30 years.

Adult Sun parakeets have a rich yellow crown, nape, mantle, lesser wing coverts, tips of the greater wing coverts, chest, and underwing coverts. The face and belly are orange with red around the ears. The base of the greater wing coverts, tertials, and base of the primaries are green, while the secondaries, tips of the primaries, and most of the primary coverts are dark blue. The tail is olive green with a blue tip. From below, all the flight feathers are dark greyish. The bill is black. The legs and the bare eye-ring are grey, but the latter often fade to white in captivity (so using the amount of grey or white in the eye ring for determining the "purity" of an individual can be misleading). The sexes are similar in plumage, although females may be lighter and slenderer in body, having a shorter tail, with a smaller, rounder head and a smaller beak. Juvenile Sun parakeets have predominantly green plumage. The distinctive yellow, orange, and reddish coloration on the back, abdomen, and head is attained with maturity.

Sun parakeets live in a relatively small region of northeastern South America: the north Brazilian state of Roraima, southern Guyana, extreme southern Suriname, and southern French Guiana. They also occur as vagrants to coastal French Guiana. These birds are mostly found in tropical habitats, but their exact ecological requirements remain relatively poorly known. They occur within dry savanna woodlands and coastal forests, but, at the edge of humid forests growing in foothills in the Guiana Shield, and cross more open savannah habitats only when traveling between patches of forest. Sun parakeets have been seen in shrublands along the Amazon riverbank, as well as forested valleys and coastal, seasonally flooded forests. They usually inhabit fruiting trees and palm groves.

3-12-2015 SINGAPORE - YELLOW HOODED BLACKBIRD (MALE) (Chrysomus icterocephalus)

The yellow-hooded blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in grassy and brush areas near water in northern South America, and is generally fairly common. It is sexually dimorphic, and the genders resemble the respective genders of the larger yellow-headed blackbird of North America, though the male yellow-hooded blackbird lacks white in the wings.

In 2007, one was found in the Darien Lowlands of Panama. This was a rare vagrant, most likely from Colombia.

With a golden head, a white patch on black wings, and a call that sounds like a rusty farm gate opening, the Yellow-headed Blackbird demands your attention. Look for them in western and prairie wetlands, where they nest in reeds directly over the water. They’re just as impressive in winter, when huge flocks seem to roll across farm fields. Each bird gleans seeds from the ground, then leapfrogs over its flock mates to the front edge of the ever-advancing troupe.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird often nests in the same marsh as the Red-winged Blackbird. The larger Yellow-headed Blackbird is dominant to the Red-winged Blackbird, and displaces the smaller blackbird from the prime nesting spots. The Yellow-headed Blackbird is strongly aggressive toward Marsh Wrens too, probably because of the egg-destroying habits of the wrens. When the Yellow-headed Blackbird finishes breeding and leaves the marsh, Marsh Wrens expand into former blackbird territories.

The male Yellow-headed Blackbird defends a small territory of prime nesting reeds. He may attract up to eight females to nest within his area. The male helps feed nestlings, but usually only in the first nest established in his territory. The other females have to feed their young all by themselves.

In 1825, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, gave the first detailed description of the Yellow-headed Blackbird, which was collected in 1820 by Thomas Say and Sir John Richardson.

Because Yellow-headed Blackbirds always build their nests over the water, nestlings sometimes fall in and have to swim short distances to vegetation.

Pleistocene fossils of Yellow-headed Blackbirds (from 100,000 years ago) have been dug up in California, New Mexico, and Utah.

The Yellow-headed Blackbird’s scientific name, Xanthocephalus, means “yellow head.”

The oldest Yellow-headed Blackbird on record was at least 11 years, 8 months old. It was banded in Saskatchewan in 1983 and was found in Nebraska in 1995.

3-12-2015 JURONG, SINGAPORE - AUSTRALIAN PELICAN (Pelecanus conspicillatus)

The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is a large waterbird in the family Pelecanidae, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant in New Zealand. It is a predominantly white bird with black wings and a pink bill. It has been recorded as having the longest bill of any living bird. It mainly eats fish, but will also consume birds and scavenge for scraps if the opportunity arises.

The Australian pelican was first described by Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin verb conspicere, meaning 'to behold', and refers to the 'spectacled' appearance created by its conspicuous eye markings.

The Australian pelican is medium-sized by pelican standards, with a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 ft). Weight can range from 4 to 13 kg (8.8 to 28.7 lb), although most of these pelicans weigh between 4.54 and 7.7 kg (10.0 and 17.0 lb). The average weight of four unsexed Australian pelicans was 5.5 kg (12 lb), making this the second heaviest Australian flying bird species on average, after the brolga, although the male of the more sexually dimorphic Australian bustard weighs a bit more at average and maximum weights (both birds are, of course, much smaller than the cassowary and emu). The pale, pinkish bill is enormous, even by pelican standards, and is the largest bill in the avian world. The record-sized bill was 50 cm (20 in) long. Females are slightly smaller with a notably smaller bill, which can measure as small as 34.6 cm (13.6 in) at maturity. The total length is boosted by the bill to 152–188 cm (60–74 in), which makes it rank alongside the Dalmatian pelican as the longest of pelicans.

Overall, the Australian pelican is predominantly white in colour. There is a white panel on the upper-wing and a white-V on the rump set against black along the primaries. During courtship, the orbital skin and distal quarter of the bill are orange-coloured with the pouch variously turning dark blue, pink and scarlet. The non-breeding adult has its bill and eye-ring a pale yellow and the pouch is a pale pinkish. Juvenile birds are similar to the adults, but with black replaced with brown and the white patch on upper wing reduced. Overall, their appearance is somewhat similar to several other pelicans, though the species is allopatric.

This species can occur in large expanses of mainland Australia and Tasmania. Australian pelicans occur primarily in large expanses of open water without dense aquatic vegetation. The habitats that can support them include large lakes, reservoirs, billabongs and rivers, as well as estuaries, swamps, temporarily flooded areas in arid zones, drainage channels in farmland, salt evaporation ponds and coastal lagoons. The surrounding environment is unimportant: it can be forest, grassland, desert, estuarine mudflats, an ornamental city park, or industrial wasteland, provided only that there is open water able to support a sufficient supply of food. However, they do seem to prefer areas where disturbance is relatively low while breeding. They may also roost on mudflats, sandbars, beaches, reefs, jetties and pilings.

The species became first known to occur in New Zealand from a specimen shot at Jerusalem in 1890 and small numbers of subfossil bones, the first found at Lake Grassmere in 1947, followed by records of other stray individuals. The bones were later described as a new (sub)species, Pelecanus (conspicillatus) novaezealandiae (Scarlett, 1966: "New Zealand pelican") as they appeared to be larger, but Worthy (1998), reviewing new material, determined that they were not separable from the Australian population. These fossils were first found in 1930.

Australian pelicans follow no particular schedule of regular movement, simply following the availability of food supplies. Drought frequently precedes movements. When the normally barren Lake Eyre filled during 1974 to 1976, for example, only a handful of pelicans remained around the coastal cities: when the great inland lakes dried again, the population dispersed once more, flocks of thousands being seen on the northern coasts. On some occasions, they are simply blown by the wind to new locations. It is a fairly regular visitor to the southern coast of New Guinea, as well as the Bismarck Islands and Solomon Islands. It occurs as a vagrant to Christmas Island, Vanuatu, Fiji, Palau and New Zealand. A population irruption occurred in 1978 into Indonesia, with Australian pelicans reaching Sulawesi, Java and possibly also Sumatra.

Australian pelicans feed by plunge-diving while swimming on the surface of the water. They work in groups to drive fish to shallower water, where they stick their sensitive bills in to snatch their prey. Some feeding grounds in large bodies of water have included up to 1,900 individual birds. They will sometimes also forage solitarily. Their predominant prey is fish and they commonly feed on introduced species such as goldfish, European carp and European perch. When possible, they also eat native fish, with a seeming preference for the perch Leiopotherapon unicolor. However, the Australian pelican seems to be less of a piscivore and more catholic in taste than other pelicans. It regularly feeds on insects and many aquatic crustaceans, especially the common yabby, prawns and the shrimps in the genus Macrobrachium. This pelican also takes other birds with some frequency, such as silver gulls, Australian white ibis and grey teal, including eggs, nestlings, fledglings and adults, which they may kill by pinning them underwater and drowning them. Reptiles, amphibians and small mammals are also taken when available. Reportedly even small dogs have been swallowed. The Australian pelican is an occasional kleptoparasite of other water birds, such as cormorants. Cannibalism of young pelicans has also been reported.

4-3-2016 OLIVA MARSHES, VALENCIA - BLACK REDSTART (FEMALE) (Phoenicurus ochruros)

The Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small passerine bird in the genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae).

The adult male of this species is overall dark grey to black on the upperparts and with a black breast; the lower rump and tail are orange-red, with the two central tail feathers dark red-brown. The belly and undertail are either blackish-grey (western subspecies) or orange-red (eastern subspecies); the wings are blackish-grey with pale fringes on the secondaries forming a whitish panel (western subspecies) or all blackish (eastern subspecies). The female is grey (western subspecies) to grey-brown (eastern subspecies) overall except for the orange-red lower rump and tail, greyer than the common redstart; at any age, the grey axillaries and underwing coverts are also distinctive. There are two distinct forms in first calendar year males at least in western subspecies, with the first ('carei') being similar to females and the second ('paradoxus') approaching adult males but lacking the whitish wing panel that does only develop during post-breeding molt of wing feathers in the second calendar year. This second form is much rarer than the first.

Black redstarts breed in south and central Europe and Asia and north-west Africa, from Great Britain and Ireland (where local) south to Morocco, east to central China. They are resident in the milder parts of their range, but north-eastern birds migrate to winter in southern and western Europe and Asia, and north Africa. In some areas, birds that breed in mountains move to lower elevations in winter. Black redstarts inhabit stony ground in mountains, particularly cliffs and stony slopes with xerophytic vegetation. They are also found in villages, and urban areas and often occur in large industrial complexes that have bare areas and cliff-like buildings.