It does, but it does not.
The diet of the Grey Wagtail consists of various insects such as flies and beetles, snails, tadpoles, small fishes and molluscs.
But this insect prey certainly seemed unpalatable that it was abandoned as fast as it was caught.
There were at least four and it was unusual, even more so as they were sniping in the air at and below eye-levels, among the low trees and shrubs.
The Black-headed Bulbuls out in force was a novel encounter as I've only ever come across a single or at most a pair so far, making them a boisterous flock for once.
And she strides, albeit just to turn around.
And that's what big birds would do when they shift perches, almost human-like sometimes, and perhaps that's what fascinates, and that's why humans keep talking to say how they understand bird behaviour!
There was hesitation as it knew it was being watched but the temptation was too great to resist.
Brown shrikes are also known as butcher birds, and that simply put, are pursuers of preys like large insects, lizards, frogs, and even smaller birds, and have even been recorded to impale their victims on thorns for example, before devouring them.
Being aggressive these pursuers behave like small raptors but one would not think of this if this Brown Shrike is anything to go by.
First, it went under cover, literally, with what looked like a millipede prey.
The incessant calls and daily circling in the sky above this housing area would definitely have alerted any observant resident to their presence, a most vocal trio of Crested Serpent-eagles as they dominated the sky this last couple of months.
Unfortunately I've not been able to spot the family of three together and only managed to sight a pair which looked like be a parent and sub-adult, leading to a conjecture that some kind of training of juvy was in process then.
One adorable resident of the bukit must be the local Hume's White-eye (Zosterops auriventer), and it's usually seen in a flock as they move about. And one need not fear missing out on them for these tiny birds are noisy when they arrive as if having a perpetual party.
However on this occasion it looked like there'll be an increase in population soon as these birds were out collecting stuffs, and it also looked like it's a family affair.
In flew one ...
It's a long overdue encounter but we finally crossed paths, me and the Dark-sided Flycatcher (Muscicapa sibirica) in the bukit, another regular visitor since the last few years.
However, I've not ever got so close to one before as this time as it turned out to be a rather confiding one, not the least bothered that I close in and moved about below it to avoid the glare.
19/2022
It's certainly not easy being a teeny-sized visitor to this taman as the Common Kingfisher discovered, always shrieked at or chased off by the residents white-breasted kingfishers, which made this visitor a most challenging one to sight.
On the few occasion I spotted it again it was for mere seconds before it fled due to the usual hostility.
A second chance and unexpected encounter with the Siberian Blue Robin before it seemed to be gone, for ever? Perhaps somewhere in the bukit it still lurked.
