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Wednesday 29 February 2012

Dinner Time----Scaly-breasted Munia


Unlike the wintering waders, the Scaly-breasted Munia (Spotted Munia) is a Hong Kong resident.   






The size of the Scaly-breasted Munia is slightly smaller than that of a Sparrow and they mainly feed on seeds. 





   When I was passing an open grassland a couple of days ago, I saw a flock of Scaly-breasted Munias foraging for grass seeds. Watching these little birds feeding made me think that they might be much more intelligent than we have given them credit for. See if you agree with me after viewing the following pictures.
 
   To overcome the fact that most single grass stems were not strong enough to support their body weight, they grabbed several stems together with both feet for stable support.









    If a seed stem was too far away to reach, one of the feet would be used to grab/hold it.






    The youngsters are fast learners too. These juvenile birds were doing a very good job as well.






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8 comments:

Choy Wai Mun said...

Although this species is quite common here in Malaysia, I rather enjoy observing their behaviour too. Great series.

Giga said...

Ptaki radzą sobie wspaniale przy jedzeniu nasion, trzymając kilka gałązek naraz, aby móc się utrzymać, ale Ty jesteś świetny obserwator, bo to zauważyłeś. Cudowne zdjęcia . Pozdrawiam. *** The birds are doing great with eating the seeds, keeping a few sprigs at a time to make a living, but you're a great observer, because it's noticed. Wonderful pictures. Yours.

Joanne Olivieri said...

These are such detailed and crisp shots. He is certainly a beautiful species. I really enjoyed this post.

老人と瀬戸内海 said...

とても素敵な写真!
素晴らしいシリーズに感謝します。

Bonnie K said...

Super interesting. Kind of an ugly name for such a pretty bird. Thanks for the info and great photos.

Millhouse Photography said...

Beautiful bird, rather like the European Hawfinch. Very nicely photographed.

Chris said...

It is a pretty bird and I love the breast feather pattern. You got some beautiful pictures of this nice bird!

JRandSue said...

Amazing collection of wonderful images.
John.