Feathers

Date: 10 January 2026
Location: Chinese Gardens, Jurong Lake Gardens
Start time: 11am

Total no. of species recorded: 23
List of Species recorded (in no order): Lesser Whistling-Duck, Rock Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Blue-throated Bee-eater, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Collared Kingfisher, Tanimbar Corella, Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot, Pied Triller, Black-naped Oriole, Brown Shrike, House Crow, Common Tailorbird, Ashy Tailorbird, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Asian Glossy Starling, Common Myna, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Brown-throated Sunbird

Overview:
For this month, my focus would be on scoring as many birds as possible. I was feeling restless after falling ill last weekend, thus I told myself that I should not overextend myself too much if I could not spot as many birds that day. I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a sizeable no. of bird species, thus I consider myself really fortunate.

Observation conditions:
Sightings were made in late morning, approx. 11am, under sunny conditions. Bird activity noticeably reduced as the weather became hotter.

Species recorded (in no particular order)

1. Lesser Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna javanica)

🐦A pair of Lesser Whistling-Duck were observed, and they stayed close together with minimal movement. As I dropped by Jurong Lake Gardens during the hot afternoon (around 3pm), before heading to the exit, the fatigue within me melted away after seeing the pair partially concealed within the purple flowers. The pair remained calm and almost stationary as they roosted together among patches of Water Hyacinth. During moments when sunlight fell on their faces, I could see the reflective sheen of the duck’s brown plumage. I only noticed the yellow eye ring as one of the 2 Lesser Whistling Duck was observed blinking at intervals. No ducklings were spotted.

I look forward to seeing more activities from this pair; roosting at Alstonia Island suggest that this location makes them feel safe enough to rest and recharge.

2. Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo (Surniculus lugubris)

🐦I was getting restless after not finding any cuckoos at their usual spots. Have they all left because of all the trimming and uprooting of a few trees around Cloud Pagoda? Afterall, Chinese Gardens is well known for being the ‘Cuckoo Land of the West’ among Birders!

I could still remember the excitement as I spotted 5 species of Cuckoos a few weeks ago, on 27 Dec 2025. It was indeed Cuckoo galore pour moi – Chestnut winged Cuckoo, Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Plaintive Cuckoo, Indian Cuckoo, rare Himalayan Cuckoo.

The female Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo was seen perched quietly in the open, on a branch, for an extended period of time; the male was out of sight. The female remained still and solitary, suggesting it might be resting or keeping a look out of its surroundings. Its glossy black overall plumage against the sparse tree branches made it easy to spot. The female bird appeared undisturbed when other birders were taking photos of it. This suggests that it has developed some tolerance of human presence.

This female bird was previously spotted at Chinese Garden where the Chestnut-winged cuckoo was first sighted last Christmas at around 3:30pm. It was well camouflaged among leafy foliage.

3. Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffiniana)

🐦 Around noon, a fellow birder alerted me about a pair of white parrots he saw. Soon after, one Tanimbar Corella flew past me, and perched at the barren tree. I quickly took a record shot rather than adjusting myself to get the right angle. It looked oddly similar to the Yellow-crested Cockatoo that I was accustomed to seeing in a pet shop; just lacking its yellow crest. Surely, it flew off towards Jurong Town Hall Rd and screeched loudly as it departed.

This was definitely a ‘lifer’ for me. The fellow birder confirmed that he has seen this bird species before few years back, and it should not be an escapee. Birds of Singapore website also confirmed that the Tanimbar Corella is indeed an uncommon introduced resident.

Upon closer inspection, its eye ring looks blue, instead of white, which made me question whether that bird was indeed a Tanimbar Corella. I shall wait for eBird to correct me.