How many birds can you see in your garden?

A TINY chestnut brown bird flitted across the garden, landing gracefully on the grass. It flew off, into the bushes, after it devoured grass seeds.  It was not alone as a flock of gregarious Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus) descended upon the garden gleaning seeds and insects.

This small discretely coloured bird, a member of the Passiforme family, takes it name from two Latin words. The first, Passer, means sparrow and the second, montanus, means of mountains. Despite its name, it is not a mountainous species.

Jannie Tan in her delightful article on Eurasian Tree Sparrows visiting a school, which was published in this column in March, introduced us to this global bird that inhabits Europe, Asia and Africa. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow has successfully colonised (yes, this chirpy bird that cheers our gardens is an invasive species) many places, for example Borneo, and it is believed that it arrived here on a ship.

It was the most frequently sighted bird in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 My Garden Bird Watch counts and it is also listed as one of the most common species in Singapore. In Asia it is commonly found in urban gardens and green lungs, however, in Europe it inhabits sparsely treed woodlands. It is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as being of the least concern even though there is no estimate of global populations. But its global nature, range of habitats and success (as in Malaysia) in adapting to urban settings has contributed to this.

Raptors and owls prey upon this chirpy brown garden bird. It also succumbs to a number of bacterial and viral infections, plus bird lice infestations contribute to nestling mortality. However, as a species it is a successful adapter and not considered to be endangered.

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is 12.5 to 14 centimetres long and weighs in at about 24 grams. It is unusual as there is no colour differentiation between genders. Male and female birds have chestnut brown heads and bodies. Both have a startling black patch on their white cheeks.

This bird, although predominantly a seed-eater, does consume insects and has been used for biological insect control. The insect eating habit is particularly pronounced when supporting its young.

It can nest up to three times a year laying mottled brown eggs in messily built cup-shaped nests that can be tucked into crevices on buildings or bushes. Both the male and female birds incubate the eggs but the female takes the night shift.

In addition, our gardens shelter many other species of birds; some have been highlighted in this column for example the Oriental Magpie Robin, Pink-Necked Green Pigeon, Asian Glossy Starling, Chestnut Munia and Yellow-Vented Bubul. I am particularly fond of the Brown-Throated and Olive-Backed Sunbirds. I always smile when I see them flitting between flowers feeding on nectar and insects. A more complete list of birds, which we might see and count today can be downloaded from the My Garden Bird Watch website (www.mygardenbirdwatch.com).

The My Garden Bird Watch is an annual event organised by the Bird Conservation Group of the Malaysian Nature Society and Bird Life International. In this event, we can participate in citizen science and help record changes in bird populations across Malaysia.

Statistical evidence has to be gathered for five to eight years in order to identify trends and answer questions. Are populations changing? Are the species of birds changing? Have some birds adapted to the cities or have some disappeared? These questions and many more can only be answered with raw data and we as citizen scientists have the opportunity to participate in this project this weekend.

This is a great opportunity to contribute. Do you have any questions? For example I want to participate, but am I able to, as I do not know much about birds. The answer is yes. The organisers have prepared an identification chart for the most common birds in Malaysia, however, it is important to note that the species may be common in Peninsular Malaysia, but not Sarawak.

All we have to do is allocate 30 minutes to observe and count perching birds from either 7am to 11am or 4pm to 6pm today. We need to watch quietly from a single location and hopefully unseen by the feathered visitors to our gardens. We record the birds we see perching in trees or on the ground on the observation form that can be downloaded from the My Garden Bird Watch website. The data and our personal details must be uploaded before June 22 (the forum is open from June 7-22) to be included in the survey. If we do, then the birds that we see will become part of the database.

The health of the bird populations in the cities across Malaysia and the world depend on the availability of food, nesting sites and shelter from the weather and predators. We can ‘call’ the birds by providing food (flowers, seeds and insects), protection from the weather and predators (bushy trees), and nesting sites. The Eurasian Tree Sparrows were in the garden as they were looking for food, plus there are lots of bushy hibiscus shrubs that can provide shelter and nesting sites.

To find out more about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow or other Bornean birds read ‘Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo’ by Quentin Phillipps and Karen Phillipps. For more information on joining My Garden Bird Watch go to www.mygardenbirdwatch.com, or you can go to the Malaysian Nature Society website at www.mns.my.

Join My Garden Bird Watch today and the citizen science bird-watching community. Happy bird-watching.

Malaysian Nature Society

Established in 1940, the Malaysian Nature Society is the oldest scientific and non-governmental organisation in Malaysia. Our mission is to promote the study, appreciation conservation and protection of Malaysia’s nature heritage. Our 5,000-strong membership, spread across 12 branches nationwide, come from all walks of life, bound by a comment interest in nature. For further information on membership or our activities in Kuching contact us at mnskuchinggmail.com. For information on our activities in Miri contact Musa Musbah ([email protected]). You can also visit www.mns.org.my, http://[email protected] or www.facebook.com/mnskb.