A look at noteworthy migratory birds of 2026 and visitors that now call Singapore home
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The fairy pitta was among the rare migratory birds recorded in January 2026.
PHOTO: YIP JEN WEI
SINGAPORE - As the latest migratory bird season draws to a close in May, The Straits Times recaps the noteworthy visitors that have arrived in Singapore, alongside migrants that now call the city-state home.
Every year, migratory species stop over in the Republic as they traverse the East Asian-Australasian Flyway between their breeding grounds and wintering grounds. Others disperse to Singapore in search of more resources or due to the loss of their habitat.
Himalayan vulture
Himalayan vultures (Gyps himalayensis).
PHOTO: LEE CHIEN NIEN
The Himalayan vulture made headlines in January after two died in Singapore.
The scavenger – native to mountain ranges in northern India – is considered a vagrant bird species here. This refers to a bird that has veered outside its normal geographic range, often due to navigational mistakes, bad weather or inexperience.
Most Himalayan vultures in South-east Asia are found in Thailand and Myanmar, with a handful occasionally reaching Singapore, which lies at the edge of their regular distribution range. Young vultures are known to scatter farther when food becomes scarcer.
Fairy pitta
A fairy pitta (Pitta nympha).
PHOTO: YIP JEN WEI
Birdwatchers were all atwitter when a fairy pitta – last formally recorded in 2021 – was spotted in Singapore Botanic Gardens on Jan 31, according to the Bird Society of Singapore’s records.
The colourful forest dweller is also a vagrant, as it usually spends the winter months in the Philippines, Borneo and central parts of Indonesia.
The National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum collected Singapore’s first specimen of the species in April.
Eurasian hoopoe
A Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops).
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
A Eurasian hoopoe spotted tucking into insects in Tanjong Katong in January became the first of its kind to have been recorded here in nearly 40 years.
The bird with a mohawk-like crest was ruled by the Bird Society of Singapore to be an escapee rather than a wild vagrant after analysis of its photos.
Red-wattled lapwing
A red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus)
PHOTO: JARED TAN
The red-wattled lapwing was once considered a rare, non-breeding visitor during winter.
In 2003, the skittish birds, known for their “trint-trint-trint” call, were found nesting here. They thrive in marshes, cultivated land, grassland, wasteland, and margins of lakes, ponds and large rivers.
Black-naped oriole
A black-naped oriole (Oriolus chinensis).
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
The population of black-naped orioles living here was a result of an invasion from Indonesia as well as the escape of caged birds in the 1920s, according to the National Library Board’s Infopedia database. It is one of the most common bird species in Singapore.
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that the hoopoe was ruled to be a vagrant. This is incorrect. It was ruled as an escapee.
