Approximately 4 weeks of incubation, I had my first sighting of a skink prey taken into the nest, which was uncommon as before, big prey was usually shared on the perch outside, which suggested that chick/s had been hatched; on this day there were also five deliveries of dragonflies, moths and butterflies into the nest within one hour.
Showing continued alertness and awareness before delivering food to the nest.
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Feeding still comprised mainly moths, butterflies and dragonflies caught within the 50m radius of the nest, either while the bird was on perch taking a breather or flew out directly from nest for the prey.
However in the first week there was no regularity or frequency in feeding. Sometimes there was no feeding for two whole hours except for a couple of moths and dragonflies; sometimes it was for almost three hours.
(On hindsight this was probably because the chicks were hatched at different times so at this stage there was probably only one chick in the nest.)
A small Atlas moth prey would be cleaned up before taking into the nest.
Sometimes the catch would be handed over to the other if both were outside together to take into the nest, mainly from the male to the female.
Big preys such as lizards, young birds or chicks tended to be delivered early in the morning, midday or late afternoon or evening.
It did not take much imagination to identify what these preys were.
Lizards, skinks and birds were increasingly caught for food. However, sometimes it was difficult to identify the bird preys as these would be de-feathered and torn loosely somewhere before arriving for delivery to the chicks. Moths, butterflies, dragonflies caught within the 50m radius of the nest were delivered immediately into the nest.
Discards such as tiny bones, wings and other unidentified parts were frequently seen ejected from or carried off the nest.
When a big prey like this Flying Lizard was delivered it was common for the pair to come together first, perhaps to look out for any snatcher? The female was seen to enter the nest to await the male to deliver the prey who only entered more than 5 minutes later perhaps so as not to reveal the nest location to the many birds in the vicinity.
After about 20 minutes, the lizard that was - skeleton now, was taken out by the female to be eaten on a distant branch.
Nothing went to waste with this parent.
Just as well as the parents had to feed themselves too and they were seen to do so with small catches like moths while resting outside the nest.
A butterfly offering from the male.
A piece of leftover bird prey taken out to be finished off nearby.
Some discards were simply Discards.
Finally a waste sac sighted.
Two days later thick nestling poops that attracted flies suggested that the chicks were now strong enough to discharge out of the nest albeit weakly.
From the second week onwards vertebrate preys featured regularly as their catch - sometimes within half an hour each one brought back usually a bird or lizard prey each.
An early morning delivery.
Further tearing loose the prey before delivering into the nest.
Meanwhile the pair still showed heightened alertness and sensitivity being watched or thought that they were being watched and would delay carrying food into the nest. If it happened to carry out remains of a prey it would fly off to a distant perch but not to its regular perch to eat.
When the coast was clear ....
The pair seen to be able to leave nest unguarded now for brief period of 5 to 10 minutes, as they flew off to preen or bathe together.
Approximately more than two weeks later three chicks were seen who could be approximately 11-15 days old.
Could there be another one or two more as it's not uncommon for the Black-thighed Falconets to have a brood size of 2-5?
Two chicks were seen to be able to discharge out of the nest.
Some observations and deductions:
The female parent was still removing a fecal sac (that was subsequently eaten by her) even as the other chicks were already able to squirt out of the nest.
The fecal sac
1. As it was difficult to know precisely when chicks were hatched in a cavity nest, signs like increased feeding, change in preys in terms of dietary changes, and parents' behaviour had to be used to suggest chick presence eg. during incubation, when a bird prey was caught the parents would consume this on an open perch; however when chicks were hatched it was observed that bird preys were taken into the nest after being torn loosely although still in one piece. However lizards, skinks, bats and even a rat were taken in whole.
The female came across as the more aggressive one bringing back bigger preys. Yet she was the one who spent more time in the nest with the chicks.
Smaller preys were carried directly into the nest and bigger ones sometimes handed to the female by the male if he was the one who caught the preys.
2. If there was a big prey caught in the morning, there was less feeding for the next few hours which accounted for the irregularity in the number of feedings; more small preys were fed when the pair failed to make a big catch.
[AI overview:
Hatchlings: chicks are altricial — blind and helpless at hatching, requiring intensive parental care.
Feeding: both parents provision chicks. The male typically supplies most prey brought to the nest, delivering prey items to the female at the cavity entrance or directly into the nest during her absences. Prey items are small birds, large insects, and sometimes small vertebrates; parents tear prey into suitable pieces for chicks.
Rate of provisioning: feeding visits are frequent, increasing as chicks grow. Parents may cache small items near the nest entrance briefly to speed deliveries.
Brood size management: with larger clutches, competition among chicks can be intense; mortality of weaker chicks is recorded in raptors generally and occasional brood reduction has been noted in falconets.]
3. The parents had to continue to be on guard as intruders especially Common Flamebacks kept returning to check out the nest. Perhaps it's breeding time for these woodpeckers who were also searching for a location or perhaps, this nest was used before by the woodpeckers.
[AI overview:
Territoriality: breeding pairs defend the immediate nesting territory vigorously against conspecifics and other small raptors. Aerial chases and calling are used to repel intruders.
Nest defense: parents will harass approaching predators and mob small intruders; larger predators (snakes, large arboreal mammals, bigger raptors) can still take eggs or nestlings.]
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