Elusive vulture and drongo make landfall in S’pore, delighting birdwatchers

SINGAPORE - Mr Lee Zhi Heng was relaxing on his couch in his living room on Feb 5 when he saw a large bird fly by outside the window of his 10th-floor Commonwealth condo.

It was a Himalayan griffon (Gyps himalayensis), a migratory vulture usually spotted soaring high up in the sky.

The majestic raptor then landed on the rooftop of a nearby HDB block. Upon confirming its identity via a shot on his camera, the 20-year-old birdwatching enthusiast was elated.

“I was basically shaking with excitement while fumbling with my phone to send out alerts to everyone,” he told The Straits Times.

“It’s rare to capture this bird perched – usually, if anyone’s lucky, they’ll just see it soaring very high up in the air.”

Mr Lee, who will start his university studies later in 2025, shared his sighting on various birding group chats, which quickly became abuzz with excitement.

Mr Trevor Teo, 53, was one of the birdwatchers who set out to look for the bird upon seeing Mr Lee’s message. He spotted it flying over Berlayer Creek in the Labrador area on the morning of Feb 6.

“If you look from the sky, Singapore is just one dot. For a rare bird to come, it’s quite amazing,” he said.

The Himalayan griffon is “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which is an inventory of the global extinction risk of different species of animals, plants and fungi.

Bird experts, such as Professor Frank Rheindt who heads the NUS Avian Evolution lab, welcome its sighting here.

“The Himalayan griffon has become a semi-regular winter visitor to Singapore over the last few years, so it’s great to see that one turned up again,” he said.

Two decades ago, all Asian vulture species declined in population due to the use of Diclofenac – an anti-inflammatory drug – in cattle farms in various countries around the region.

The substance is poisonous to scavenging birds like vultures, and kills them when they feed on the carcasses of dead cows.

“Luckily, Diclofenac use has now been banned in most tropical Asian nations, and the vultures are on a slow return,” said Prof Rheindt.

According to him, the one spotted this week is likely from a group which annually spends the winter at a “vulture restaurant” in Phuket, Thailand, where the birds are fed with dead mammal carcasses.

This particular vulture may have flown farther south to reach Singapore, Prof Rheindt added.

This was not the only rare avian sighting in Singapore’s skies over the last few days.

Birdwatchers also caught sight of the hair-crested drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus), in what experts say is only the second time it has been spotted in Singapore.

Dr Mithilesh Mishra, 45, spotted the bird at Mount Faber on the evening of Feb 5.

“I have seen this bird many times outside of Singapore, but it was the first time I saw it locally.

“It is always a delight to see a new bird in Singapore,” he said.

The drongo was last spotted here in November 2019 at Changi Business Park, according to an online database of bird sightings maintained by the Bird Society of Singapore.

Prof Rheindt said: “Hair-crested drongos are common breeders of drier parts of South-east Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam.

“This bird is likely a Chinese breeder that overshot too far south during migration.”