Hooded Pitta

Two Hooded Pittas Pitta sordiad cucullata were spotted at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is a great finding. Winter visitor. The Hooded ldiet consist of mainly insects but may feed on other organism too. Poh Bee manage to take a photo of it feeding on land snail. Here's a link to a online article on Pittas of Singapore by A. F. S. L. Lok, K. T. N. Khor, K. C. Lim and R. Subaraj.


2 comments:

budak said...

some thoughts on mealworm use:

http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2009/02/11/pitta-watching-at-the-singapore-botanic-gardens/

http://besgroup.talfrynature.com/2010/06/07/mugimaki-flycatcher-catches-an-insect-larva/

Note: mealworms are the larva of a species of darkling beetle.

budak said...

adding to that, I am of the view that there's quite a difference between placing bird feeders (with appropriate food) in your own private garden, which is a common practice during winter in Europe and the US, and claiming to help migrants to places like Singapore, where the idea that they birds would difficulty finding food is shaky. The other issue is whether the bird in question would become too habituated to humans due to the feeding. Photographers seem to like to deny the possibility, but they aren't the only people potentially interested in a pretty wild bird but with less charitable aims.