I SPENT A MORNING GETTING TO BAND BIRDS ON SAIPAN

I was invited to join two local interns for a morning of bird banding here on Saipan.  Luckily they were working close to one of my field sites so I was able to get some of my own work done that afternoon.  It has been a couple years since I have been banding and forgot how much fun it was.  I really dont have an interesting story here; I just wanted to brag and show off some pictures of the cool and pretty birds I got to hold.

For those of you how are interested in what the interns do...they are on a 4 month rotation on Saipan before they move to another banding job site (off Saipan) under the same employer or they get a different job.  Anyways, they set up ~10 nets to catch the birds at a given location and work from 6am-noon.  Once they catch the birds, they put a metal band around the bird's leg which has a unique ID number.  Then various bird measurements are taken (e.g. age, sex, wing length, feather features/abnormalities, etc) before releasing the bird.  Often birds are caught which already have a band on them.  This is good and the whole point of banding.  A previous intern took the exact same data on that individual bird and now you can see how the bird has grown, matured, or changed since it was last captured.  You can also get a rough estimate about the size of the bird populations  based on the number of 'recaptures' you get throughout the year (dont worry, I wont bore you with that).

 On to the pretty pictures (all of which were taken by me).........(*Note: hold 'Ctrl' then tap the '+' button repeatedly will zoom in if you want to view the pictures better.  Hold 'Ctrl' then press the number '0' (zero) to return to your normal view)


Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out when we caught this bird species.  Plus, they are hard to hold b/c of their short legs and strong bills, which they are not afraid to use as either pinchers and a dagger on your hand.  So, I am using a picture I took of this individual hang'n out on a branch.  This species' name is a bit of a misnomer b/c they dont actually eat fish like their North American relatives.  These guys eat lizards, skinks, mantids and other insects, small crabs, and even other birds.  They are really cool to watch hunt b/c they fly by and pluck prey off trees.  Then they repeatedly bash their prey against a branch in order to kill it before consuming it whole.  It's quite a spectacle.

This is the Collared Kingfisher (Halcyon Chloris) in Saipan.

Front view of the Collared Kingfisher (Halcyon Chloris) on Saipan.

 This is one of the most common birds in the forest and the species which we caught the most this morning.  They are funny insectivorous birds b/c they aren't too concerned with humans rummaging around in their jungle.  They will fly down to a perch a couple yards from your face to check you out.  They will also follow you or other birds around for reasons I'm not entirely sure about.  One of the local names means the 'follow me' bird; if you try to follow this bird it wont take long before you are completely lost deep in the jungle. 

The Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons) on Saipan.

This is the other most common bird in the jungle and we caught several of these.  As you can tell by the picture, they aren't very big birds-maybe a little bigger than a golf ball.  They are extremely fast and sometimes hard to see in the forest.  Not as curious as the Fantail and seem to mind their own business eating nectar and insects.  Since they eat nectar, this is one of the birds that is particularly important to my summer research.

The Bridled White-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus) on Saipan.

 This is another White-eye species which is particularly important to my research b/c they too feed partially on nectar.  Their bright gold bodies makes them easy to spot in the dark jungle foliage and almost make you question whether someones escaped  pet canary just whizzed over my head.  Maneuvering through the trees as they forage, fight, and flirt make these Cirque du Soleil acrobats entertaining to watch.

 

The Golden White-eye (Cleptornis marchei) in Saipan.

Doves are usually pretty drab (in my opinion) and not as aesthetically pleasing as many of the other forest birds, but this particular species is exceptionally beautiful.  Looks like a botched tie-dye experiment or a child's dyed Easter egg.  Honestly, pictures really dont do justice to its vibrant colors.

The Marian Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus roseicapilla) on Saipan.

This species is not native to Saipan and not all that common in the natural forest but they do frequent urbanized areas, parks, and grasses along the roadside  This particular individual looks kinda ragged in the face.  This finch species is generally nice to look at if you manage to get close enough to see them as they are skittish. 

The Orange-cheeked Waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) on Saipan.

 And the Grand Finale!  This is my personal favorite and, arguably, the most important species involved in my current research.  This individual is a juvenile male (thus the dark patches throughout breast) who has not come into full adult plumage.  A typical male has vibrant red on the head, breast, and back with nicely contrasting black wings and tail.  If I sit and watch a group of flowers, whether in the jungle, outside my apt window, or at the local park, I'm bound to see at least one of these in no time.  Notice the down-curved bill.  Makes this species well adapted to drink nectar from all sorts of flowers.

The Cardinal Honeyeater or Micronesian Honeyeater (Myzomela rubrata) on Saipan.

 Now those are just the species which we caught while netting in the jungle.  There are several other bird species which I have seen but dont have pictures for show-n-tell.

However, I do have a few pictures of this little coastal bird.  They are stark white except for a jet black bill and eyes of coal.  Their heads resemble a snowman I made when I was a kid.  These birds have a peculiar way about them.  Instead of building a nest and protecting an egg/chick in that nest, they lay an egg directly on a tree branch.  The egg (and later the chick) usually rest in a groove, crevasse, or "Y" fork in the limb.  This doesn't seem like a terribly bright method given that a gust of wind (which occur with some regularity) could easily dislodge the item to which the parents invested so much time and energy.  However retarded their reproductive plan is, they are still an elegant looking bird.

The White Tern or Angel Tern (Gygis alba) on Saipan.

After a morning of bird banding, I stopped for a quick lunch with a spectacular view (that is Managaha Island in the top right of the frame-you'll get to hear more about that island after this weekend).  I had to pry myself off my waterfront dining/tanning lounge to get back to work.  I just couldnt resist the opportunity to rub in one of the many perks of working in the tropics.  Enjoy eating lunch at your desk!

Much love!

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