And to keep themselves cool, birds do it in a way that’s so similar to man’s best friend. 🙂 But before I continue further, here’s the usual for today.
Date: 20/01/2010
Time start: 1:00pm
Time end: 4:00pm
Weather: Sunny
Location: Prince George’s Park, Kent Ridge NUS (Spot X – 6)
Observations: Yellow-vented Bulbul
Fruit abundance: at least 10
1:25pm:
Yours truly was on the verge of getting baked like Hansel and Gretel in the witch’s oven. But without any sunblock at hand, all I could do was appreciate the longs that I wore over my arms with a cap on my head a scarf wound around my neck. Mind you, I am a big fan of Mr. Sunshine, but too much of this ♥ can be a sizzle.
Anyway, while I sat down and “evaporated”, the Javan Mynas a few feet away from me were making quite a din. So, while I kept one eye open on the Melastoma patch, the other was trained on the mynahs which I had my camera-in-video-mode focused on. Reason was that the several times I saw them do the head-bobbing that were accompanied with calls, seeds had been regurgitated. They didn’t appear to be bothered by the heat till my video captured something really… strange, yet fascinating. Check this out and you’ll see what I mean.
Wasn’t it just frigging cool the way its eyes would gloss over and its beak opening up wide as it positioned itself sideway? For a moment right there, it looked as if the bird had just dropped dead. –.-“ Thank you Luan Keng for giving me a heads-up on their behaviour.
Also, you might have noticed that the mynahs had their mouths opened when they walked and roamed about. It’s another way of keeping the heat in check. Since they don’t sweat, birds open their mouths to shed the excess heat. This is panting [1]. There you go, I wasn’t lying when I said earlier that they were like dogs.
2:50pm:
I could hear the flowerpeckers and then 1 couple bounded past me towards the Melastoma. Unfortunately, no feeding activity could be seen from where I sat. The Brahminy Kite was once more seen on a tall tree yonder. Perching at what seemed like its favourite spot, it gave an “aihhhHH.. aihhhHH..” very similar to this. Come next time, i will shift and watching from this spot:
3:30pm:
And just as my observation reached the last 30 minutes of the 3rd hour, I saw my very first Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense)! And it wasn’t just one woodpecker, the female was spotted a few minutes right after I stalked every move of the male via my A720IS. 😀 
The male has a red crown…
… while the female has a black one. Both have black eye stripes that join to the black rear stripe. The male could be seen scouring one tree to another wile pecking at holes at some moments. Probably looking for grubs? 
But just as I was giving up all hopes of seeing any birds for the day, this happened…
3:40pm:
* Frugivore: Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)
* Total observed: 1
* Fruits eaten: 1 (whole)
* Comment: Fruit swallowed entirely, weather was slightly cloudy.
Even if it’s just one time, every little data counts. After all. “sikit-sikit, lama-lama jadi bukit” – with every bit, it will soon become a mountain!
Reference:
1. Do birds sweat: How do birds keep cool on hot days?
Black Dillenia 
