Monday, November 28, 2005

The Little Heron (Butorides striatus)

I spotted this juvenile Little Heron (aka the Mangrove Heron or Striated Heron) at the Singapore Botanic Gardens this morning. It was standing on a water-lily pad hunting for little fishes.
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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Changeable Lizard at Kent Ridge Park.

This morning I went to Kent Ridge Park with the simple intention of wanting to try out the Canopy Walk. Kent Ridge did not disappoint...
The Canopy Walk.
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Another view of the Canopy Walk.
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I was hanging around at the Look-Out Point till noon, when I then went in search of the legendary alligator at the pond. Just imagine, some wise guy saw a Monitor Lizard and later the story went around that he saw an alligator ! Whilst walking along the edge of the pond, I saw a juvenile Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) or Pucong Kuning (Malay name) on the opposite bank. It is not easy to spot a Yellow Bittern because of their supreme camouflage. They are usually seen only in flight, and their flights are usually brief and low. Couldn't get a good shot, as it darted quickly into the thick undergrowth to hide.
As I made my way back to the Canopy Walk, a Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor) ran across my path just in front of me. It was a matured male in red crested breeding regalia. He seems to be less fearful of people. I leopard-crawled to within 3 feet of this agamid ( See photo below).
This agamid froze momentarily on hearing my footsteps.
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