By Laura Berman

A recent publication in the Journal of Ornithology has some interesting new data on the breeding seasons of Singapore’s birds, and if you are an avid contributor to eBird, your observations might be a part of it.

Singapore has an incredibly dedicated birding community, and many birders share their observations of nests, baby birds, and fledglings. All those observations were taken together with half a decade of mist-netting data collected by the Avian Evolution Lab at NUS and the National Parks Board to outline the breeding season in Singapore.

If you look hard enough you can find birds building nests in Singapore just about any month of the year, but you’re much more likely to succeed if you go looking in March – that’s when most insectivores like Malaysian Pied Fantails and frugivores like Coppersmith Barbets and Black-naped Orioles are constructing nests. Granivores like Baya Weavers nest a bit later in the year, the best chance to catch them constructing their charismatic hanging nests is in June. You’re most likely to come across active nests with unhatched eggs if you go looking in April or May. June to July is the best time to see parents feeding their fledglings, and very young birds still chasing their parents begging for food. By the time August comes around the breeding season is over, but if your field ID is particularly good you might be able to recognise juvenile birds still in their first set of flight feathers.

It’s always exciting to see nests and baby birds but remember not to get too close. Its stressful enough being a parent.

Another example of a very widespread frugivorous species, the Black-naped Oriole. They are very common in Singapore, but finding their nest takes a bit of effort! Photo credit: Goh Cheng Teng

Granivorous species like the Baya Weaver , known for their intricate nests, tend to breed later in the year. Photo credit: Keita Sin, taken in Malaysia

Insectivorous birds like the Malaysian Pied Fantail that likes to nest near waterbodies often nest around March. Photo credit: Keita Sin

Frugivorous birds like the Coppersmith Barbet tend to nest around March too. Photo credit: Goh Cheng Teng

References

Berman, L., Li, D., Yang, S., Kennewell, M., Rheindt, F. (2022) Breeding season linked to sunshine hours in a marginally seasonal equatorial climate. Journal of Ornithology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-022-02009-9. Link