Natural History Notes

Yellow-bellied Prinia The Prinia is a slender warbler characterized by its long, graduated tail and thin bill, found across regions from Africa to Southeast Asia. In our area, the Yellow-bellied Prinia is among the most commonly encountered species, as it prefers open grasslands and agricultural areas which are usually close to human settlements. This bird is easily identified by its striking bright yellow underparts, which contrast with its olive-brown upperparts, whitish throat, and sometimes a small white speck in front of the eye. Its calls comprise of slurred whistling notes and a sort of mewing sound are often heard from within tall grasses, can help distinguish it from other warblers sharing the same habitat. It builds a purse-shaped nest made of thin plant fibers, attached to a grass stalk. Nest of Yellow-bellied Prinia In denser, well-wooded habitats such as forest edges and plantations, the Rufescent Prinia replaces the Yellow-bellied Prinia. Unlike its open country counterpa...

A stingless bee collecting resin. Stingless bees are widely distributed in tropical regions, but they are most diverse in Southeast Asia partly due to the high numbers of resinous trees. They collect resins, such as those from dipterocarps trees in the rainforest, to be used as construction material for their nest which are built inside tree trunks. Resins also serve as protective material that deters predators including ants and wasps from attacking their colony. A stingless bee visiting Asystasia flower. Like honeybees, stingless bees feed primarily on nectar, but they are also known to opportunistically take honeydew, fruit juice, and carrion, among many others. When visiting tubular flowers, they habitually cut a hole near the base of the flower using their mandible, for easier access to nectar source. Locally, stingless bees are known as lukut (Philippines), kelulut (Malaysia) and emmu (Sulawesi). Locals have been rearing these social bees for honey usi...

Ants construct their nest in a wide array of locations such as in soil, wood and trees. Weaver ants, unlike other tree dwelling ants, build a remarkable nest by "stitching" together leaves using silk from their larvae. Red weaver ants (Genus Oecophylla) Working as a team, workers pull and bend leaves using their strong mandible. Other workers carry larvae and then gently squeeze them with their jaw to secrete silk which will glue the leaves together. Occasionally a leave might be out of reach for a worker to grab. In such cases, several individuals will hold on to each other, forming a living bridge. Nest of the weaver ants. Weaver ants are beneficial to humans too. The larvae, also known as ant eggs because of their shape and whitish color, are eaten by people in Indo-China. Because weaver ants are very protective of their nest and will not hesitate to bite when disturbed, they are useful as a natural pest control. Indeed, farmers are known to deliberatel...

The Baya Weaver is one of a few species  of weaver bird represented in tropical Asia. Baya Weaver  nest is a remarkable structure made from long grasses. Based on my observation, some of Baya Weaver nests are larger than others, and some individuals take a longer time to complete a nest. They start nesting at the early part of the year. Partially completed Baya Weaver's nest The male Baya Weaver constructed the nest about halfway during which it resembles a helmet. At this stage  he will start displaying to the female by flapping its wings and gives a lot of chirping noises which are usually followed by wheezy notes of various length. The female will inspect the nest, and if she approves it they will pair up and the male will finish off the nest. A male Baya Weaver at its completed nest The completed Baya Weaver nest structure looks like an inverted flask with a tubular entrance beneath. By then the grasses used to weave it may already dried and ...