Hi Readers,

Since the semester is coming to an end soon, I thought I would share some interesting fact and some observations I made about a rare bird species in Singapore, the Chestnut-bellied Malkoha. The Chestnut-bellied Malkoha is a large non-parasitic bird of the order Cuckoos. This means that unlike some cuckoos, the Malkoha does not lay its eggs in the nest of other birds. Instead it builds its own nest and raise their own young.

In Singapore, the Chestnut-bellied Malkoha is the last surviving species of Malkoha found here. It is listed in the 2008 IUCN Red list as globally near threatened. Other species such as the Black-bellied Malkoha have died out in Singapore due to the rapid clearing of our primary rainforest in the past.  Due to its size, it relies heavily on large insects and occasionally small vertebrates. The loss of our forest may have affected the Malkoha’s main food source (large insects), hence causing their decline. Here’s a link to some photographic observation of the Malkoha’s diet.

Benjamin Seah

Chestnut-bellied Malkoha with a stick insect meal

In recent years, nesting was recorded regularly at Jurong Eco Gardens (JEG). Just a few months ago, a Malkoha chick successfully fledged in that area. However, that event also drew an enormous crowd trying to get a picture of it. Here are some observations I have made over the past few encounters with the Malkoha:

• (Nesting at JEG, 2018) One of the photographers wanted to get closer, so he stood right underneath the nest. The parent bird was seen perching on a nearby tree, but did not return to the nest to feed the chick. It was until a senior birder that told the guy to move a few steps back (where the rest of us were standing), before the Malkoha finally flew back to the nest to feed the chick. Getting too close might affect the frequency of the chicks being fed as the parents become more wary.
• (Failed nesting at Dairy Farm Nature Park, 2017) Reports of a Malkoha sighting drew in a small crowd. The Malkoha was seen building a few nest and even staying in some of them, before abandoning all of it. Not sure why the Malkoha built multiple nest or why it suddenly decided to abandon all of the nest. The small crowd, although far away from the nest, could be a possible reason as to why the Malkoha abandoned the nest

Malkoha seen in the nest (2017)

Threats

The area in Jurong Eco Garden where the Malkoha has nested multiple times will be developed. The loss of the forest there may mean that the Malkoha can no longer find enough food to raise their young. Some parts of the forest there have already been removed in 2019. Although the Chestnut-bellied Malkoha is an adaptable species, capable of surviving around the fringes of secondary forest, it is unlikely that this forest dependent species will continue to stay when the area is surrounded by buildings. Refer to the picture below.

Original forested area is in the circle

The “X” marks the spot where the Malkoha nested in 2018