It's both easy and hard to bash Singapore, as it's somewhere between a
police state and a utopia. I love going there, although I recognize its
limitations (when I first visited, I shaved my beard very short, but
they've loosened up a bit since then). From talking to a lot of people
there, there doesn't seem to be much resentment of government policy, but
perhaps I only talked to the centrists. Anyway, here's a bird list, as
Maureen Ellis requested, in part an experiment to see how well it travels.
I had it in Microsoft Excel, copied it to Word, then copied it here.
Obviously the columns with daily totals are distorted, but you'll get some
idea of the relative abundance of different species. I'd call it
moderately good birding, although lacking many species you could find on
the Malaysian mainland just to the north.

SINGAPORE BIRDS SEEN SEPTEMBER 1989 BY DENNIS PAULSON

ENGLISH NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME 12 13 14 15 16 17
18
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 3
Purple Heron A. purpurea 1 6
Striated Heron Butorides striatus
4 2
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 6
Great Egret Egretta alba 2
Little Egret E. garzetta 2 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
10 2
Cinnamon Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamominus
2 (x)
Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus
1
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus 5 12
White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster 1
1
White-browed Crake Poliolimnas cinereus
3
White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus 1 2
12 3
Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 6

Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis 1

Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
4
Pacific Golden-Plover P. fulva 350
50
Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
8
Mongolian Plover C. mongolus 51

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 1

Common Redshank Tringa totanus 550 20
Marsh Sandpiper T. stagnatilis 125 50
Common Greenshank T. nebularia 1
5
Wood Sandpiper T. glareola 125 20
Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus 5
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 1 1 3
18 6
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres 2

Pintail Snipe Gallinago stenura 1

Long-toed Stint Calidris subminuta 1
8
Curlew Sandpiper C. ferruginea 305
200
White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus
60
Little Tern Sterna albifrons 10
10
Pink-necked Pigeon Treron vernans 4 4 6 4
8 4
Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis 8 8 6 6 50
25 15
Red Turtle-Dove S. tranquebarica 250

Peaceful Dove Geopelia striata 2 2 6

Green-winged Pigeon Chalcophaps indica 1
1
Goffin's Cockatoo Cacatua goffini 1
2
Long-tailed Parakeet Psittacula longicauda
2
Chestnut-bellied Malkoha Phaenicophaeus sumatranus
4
Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis 1

Edible-nest Swiftlet Aerodramus fuciphagus 10 10 1
6 10 1
Black-nest Swiftlet A. maximus ? ? ? ?
? ?
Brown Needletail Hirundapus giganteus
5 1
Asian Palm-Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis
5
Grey-rumped Treeswift Hemiprocne longipennis 20 2 4
1
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 2 1 2 1
1 1
White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis 1 1
2 1
White-collared Kingfisher H. chloris
1 2
Blue-throated Bee-eater Merops viridis 1 2 1 1

Red-crowned Barbet Megalaima rafflesii
(x)
Rufous Woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus 1

Brown-capped Woodpecker Picoides moluccensis
5
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 3 80 1
Pacific Swallow H. tahitica 2 5 20 4 30 8
2
Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus 1

Common Iora Aegithina tiphia 1 1
1
Yellow-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus goiaver 15 6 10 10
50 30 12
Olive-winged Bulbul P. plumosus 10
10
Cream-vented Bulbul P. simplex
10
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus
8
Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis 4 6 2 2
7 5 4
House Crow Corvus splendens 2 120

Large-billed Crow C. macrorhynchos 4 2
2 3 2
Short-tailed Babbler Trichastoma malaccense 4

Striped Tit-Babbler Macronous gularis 4
6
Flyeater Gerygone sulphurea 1

Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius 1 8 2
2 2 3
Dark-necked Tailorbird O. atrogularis 1
2
Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris
2
Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
1
Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava 2
Richard's Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae 3

Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus 1 1

Long-tailed Shrike L. schach 1

Philippine Glossy Starling Aplonis panayensis 8 4 10
20 50 150 20
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis 10 2 20 50
10
White-vented Myna A. javanicus 20 60 35 40 300
150 40
Crested Myna A. cristatellus 1
Hill Myna Gracula religiosa 1
3
Brown-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis 4 3 1
3 10 10
Olive-backed Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis 1

Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja 3
1
Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra 1
1
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma 2
10
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker D. cruentatum 2
3
Eurasian Tree-Sparrow Passer montanus 10 1 3 15
50 15
Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus
12
Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata
10
Chestnut Munia L. malacca 2
12 - Singapore Botanic Gardens

13 - SBG, expressway to Mandai Orchid Gardens & Singapore Zoo

14 - city, Nee Soon, MacRitchie Reservoir

15 - SBG, city, Serangoon Rd.

16 - SBG, Serangoon estuary (both sides), Changi Beach

17 - Bukit Kalang, Sungai Buloh, zoo and Jurong Bird Park

18 - SBG


Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416