White-Rumped Shama

Many thrushes are powerful songsters but the White-Rumped Shama Copsychus malabariscus is surely one of the best. Its rich and bubbling song is a delight to hear in the forest.

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A close relative to the Magpie Robin, the White-Rumped Shama is also a good songster; its rich bubbling fluty whistle a characteristic sound of the lowland rainforest. Because of its beautiful song, it is trapped for the cage bird trade. It often descends to feed on the ground but delivers its song from a perch. Specimens see in cage are likely to be escaped cage birds. Source: Strange & Jeyarajasingam (1993)

Head, breast and wings are entirely glossy black in male; bold white rump and long, graduated black tail with white edges; lower breast and abdomen rufous-orange. Female similar but dark grey and rufous rather than black and orange; shorter tail. Source: Davidson & Y.F. Chew (1995)

Pacific Swallows

Pacific Swallows are found everywhere, but usually near water and open country. In Singapore, they are particularly common along the coasts, and also found in mangroves. Earlier this year, a few pacific swallows rested outside my office window. Thus, I was able to take some close-up photos of them.

photo: Kent Ridge

Pacific Swallows eat insects, catching them during flight. To feast on swarming insects, they may join other birds like Swifts. But unlike Swifts that simply trawl the air with their mouths open, Swallows don't hunt on the wing. They perch and wait, then actually chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. Swallows also hunt at lower levels than Swifts.Unlike Swifts, Swallows can perch and also come to the ground to drink or gather nesting material.

This species is a small swallow at 13 cm. It has a blue back with browner wings and tail, a red face and throat, and dusky underparts. It differs from Barn Swallow in its shorter and less forked tail.
Adult: Upperparts metallic blue; forehead, throat, upper breast chestnut; lowerparts grey, never white.

Juvenile: Upperparts browner; less chestnut on throat and forehead.

text source: http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Hirundo_tahitica.htm

Asian Koel

Some time back, a pair of Asian Koel was sighted on the tree outside my office. Big and long-tailed, the male is glossy black all over with red eye and pale heavy bill. Female similar in shape but dark brown with bold spots and bars all over.  Calls unmistakable, often starting before dawn: ten or more increasingly loud glissading notes, koel!

A remarkable case of rapid spread: in ten years koels have colonised the whole peninsula of Malaysia, as nest parasites of crows and mynas. Like many species of cuckoos, Asian Koel practices brood paratism, which is defined as a bird laying its eggs in the nest of another bird (either another species or another individual of the same species) so that the young will be raised by the host parents.

NUS Kent Ridge

My search on the internet reveals that cuckoos have evolved various strategies for getting their egg into a host nest, depending on the host defensive strategies.

Egg-laying strategy: Female cuckoos have evolved secretive and fast laying behaviors, and in some cases, males have been seenn to lure host adults away from their nests so that the female can lay her eggs in their nest in the first place. It is also noted that the shells of the eggs of brood-parasites is usually thick - they have two distinct layers with an outer chalky layer that is believed to provide resistance to cracking when the eggs are dropped in the host nest. 

Egg-mimicry strategy: Some host birds are able to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own, leading to those eggs least like the host's being thrown out of the nest. In such setting, female parasitic cuckoos lay eggs that closely resemble the eggs of their chosen host. Parasitic cuckoos that show the highest levels of egg mimicry are those who hosts exhibit high levels of egg rejection behaviour. Some hosts do not exhibit egg rejection behavior and in these cases, the cuckoo eggs look very dissimilar from the host eggs.  

Egg-camouflage strategy: Other species of cuckoo lay "cryptic" eggs, which are dark in color when their hosts' eggs are light in color. This is a trick to hide the egg from the host, and has evolved in cuckoos that parasitize hosts with dark, domed nests.

Big-bully strategy: Some parasitic cuckoos have also exhibit "mafia-like" enforcement, in which adult cuckoos will completely destry the host's clutch if they reject the cuckoo egg. In this case, raising the cuckoos chick is less of a cost than the alternative - total clutch destruction!

It's in the genes: The cuckoo egg hatches earlier thatn the host's, and the cuckoo chick grows faster; in most cases the chick evicts the eggs or young of the host species. Since the chick has no time to learn this behavior, it must be an instinct passed on genetically.

  

source: Davidson & Chew (2008); wikipedia. 

Spotted Dove

The Spotted Dove is a very popular cage bird and the illegal trapping of will individuals is still a common practice. An adaptable bird with a wide tolerance for habitat, it is found in woodlands, open country and fields. It spends a lot of time walking on the ground near long grass, feeding on seeds.

Feeding on the ground, this is the most abundant pigeon of open country and cultivation.

Description: Brown above, mottled darker brown; vinous pink head and underparts, with white-spotted black half-collar joined round sides and back of neck. Taking off, conspicuously whitish sides to tail and pale grey panel on carpal joint of each wing. Singly or in pairs on ground, feeding on seeds and other bits of vegetation, or perched on wires or low trees; not large flocks. Call a three- or four-note coo.

source: Davidson & Chew (2007); Strange & Jeyarajasingam (1999); Photographic Society of Singapore (2010)

Pinked-necked Green Pigeon

PIGEONS are mainly arboreal birds while DOVES usually feed on the ground in more open habitats. Together they form the family Columbidae.

NUS Kent Ridge

The Pinked-necked Green Pigeon is a widespread and common garden bird throughout South-east Asia. This chubby pigeon can be enormously common in coastal scrub when fruits are abundant. From a distance, the birds look predominantly green. While this is true for the female, the male is more colorful, wearing a light pink neck and splashed with an orange spot on the breast.

Description: It can be distinguished from other green pigeons by grey tail with black band and grey tip. Male has grey head passing through pink to orange lower breast; green back and wings. Female dull green without markedly pale throat, best identified by tail pattern and association with distinctive male.

Calling a lilting coo, varied and prolonged. This pigeon usually forages in flocks, especially near coast in mangroves, scrub, secondary forest, forest edge, feeding on a variety of fruiting trees. It is particularly fond of figs (as shown in the photos above).

source: Davidson... ; Y.K. Chew (2007); K.S. Ong (2008); PSS (2010)

Common Tailorbird

WARBLERs are a large family of small insectivorous birds. Some are found in forests, others in mangroves, gardens or open grasslands. Many of the species are somewhat similar in appearance, they all move quickly through the vegetation, and are hard to photograph. Some recreational bird photographers give them a miss as they are simply too hard to locate and capture.

Bt Batok Nature Reserves, Singapore

The tailorbids are a delightful genus of warblers, being active, vocal and attractive. But the 11-12 cm long birds which move with lightning speed through dense trees and bushes are not easy to photograph. Found in secondary growth, scrub, gardens, plantations. Their darting, low flight from thicket to thicket and continual change of perch make tailor birds hard to see well even when they are very close.

Description: Olive above, creamy buff below including buff under tail-coverts, with rufous forehead and thighs, greyish face. Often shows some grey or even blackish feather-bases on throat but always less than Black-necked Tailor Bird; distinguished from that species also by thigh colour, lack of yellow on under tail coverts, longer tail.

An active and vocal bird, it always move about low in the bushes looking for insects. Call: a loud kedeek kedeek kedeek. True to its name, it actually builds its nest inside two large leaves which it sews together using silk for thread.  

source: Davidson & Chew (2007); K.S. Ong (2008)

Keep Me Save (Psalms 16: 1-11)

vv 1-2. Keep me safe, O God for in you I take refuge. You are my God and apart from you I have no good thing.

vv. 5-6 Lord you have assigned me my cup and my portion; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

Location: Wildlife Reserves Singapore

vv. 7-10 The Lord who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. My heart is glad & my tongue rejoices; my body rest secure; because you will not abandon me...

v. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Coppersmith Barbet

BARBETS are related slightly to woodpeckers, both groups have strong bills and feet and nest in tree cavities. Barbets, however, feed mainly on fruits, while woodpeckers hammer into dead wood and bark for ants, termites and larvae. Barbets are colourful and attractive forest birds, but most species live mainly high in large trees, and getting good views of them is difficult. They usually move inside the foliage and are best located and identified by calls.

Location: NUS Kent Ridge

The Coppersmith Barbet is a common resident that prefers open-country habitats. It is found in parks and gardens, on the fringes of mangroves and even in busy heartland districts. This species often goes unnoticed due to its small size and habit of perching on the top of tall trees.

Though this bird is typically solitary, groups of more than ten have occasionally been seen at fruiting trees. Close up, this bird is a gem with its red forecrown and breastband, brilliant yellow throat and reddish feet. Plummage is dark green with streaked buff and green abdomen. 

Call a repetitive choink, choink, choink, of metallic tone, more than one note per second, sounding like a coppersmith's hammer. The only brightly coloured barbet of open areas. Found in scattered trees in open country, secondary growth, gardens.

The nest is built in typical barbet fashion, inside the cavity of a tree trunk. It can be seen feeding in fruiting trees.

Source: Davidson & Chew (2007) Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore; Ong K.S. (2008) A Passion for Birds; Lee T.K. (2010) Birds in the Garden City.

Be Glorified! (2 Thess 1:12)

This song by Don Moen kept resonating is my heart for the past two weeks... Be Gloried! Today, my devotional scripture reading is on 2 Thessalonias 1:12 which also focuses on the there... may the name of Jesus be glofied in you! What does this means? Listen carefully to the lyrics of the song...

 

With every beat of my heart
Every song that I sing
Every prayer that I pray
Every offering I bring
In every thought that I have
Every word that I say
Oh, be glorified (yeah, yeah)

From the start of each day
'Til the end of the night
Let me bring praise
Let me bring light
Lord, I offer my life
As a sacrifice
Be glorified (yeah, yeah)

This is my prayer
It's the cry of my heart
Lord, I want my life
To reflect who You are
Oh Lord, please stir up the fire
And burn everything
'Til all I desire is You

With every breath that I take
In everything that I do
Let me lift up Your name
And bring honor to You
Let the words of my mouth
Only speak truth
Oh, be glorified (yeah, yeah)

This is my prayer
It's the cry of my heart
Lord, I want my life
To reflect who You are
Oh Lord, please stir up the fire
And burn everything
'Til all I desire is You

This is my prayer
It's the cry of my heart
Lord, I want my life
To reflect who You are
Oh Lord, please stir up the fire
And burn everything
'Til all I desire is You

With every beat of my heart
Every song that I sing
Every prayer that I pray
Every offering I bring
In every thought that I have
Every word that I say
Be glorified (be glorified), oh, oh
Be glorified (be glorified), oh yeah
Be glorified (be glorified), oh Lord
Be glorified

In everything I say
Everything I do (be glorified)
In every situation
Every conversation (be glorified)

It's my prayer (be glorified)
Be glorified

Yellow-Vented Bulbul



photo: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Singapore

This is probably the most conspicuous garden bird in Singapore. It will be difficult to find a park in the region that doesn't support a population of this attractive bird, feeding in ornamental trees and breeding low inside dense bushes.

Call is a brief bubbling series of notes, the two birds of a pair calling and raising spread wings over their backs in unison. Its bubbling song provides the wake-up call at daybreak in any 'kampong' or housing estate with a bit of grenery.

Description: Brown above, the head chalky white with a dark crown and dark stripe through the eye; underparts are white, tinged brownish-grey on breast which looks faintly mottled; under tail-coverts pale yellow. Crest often raised into a short peak. 

location: NUS, Kent Ridge

The nest is a shallow cup built low inside a dense bush. 

 

photo: Botanic Gardens, S'pore  

source: Davidson & Y.F. Chew (2007) Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore

Devastating Events

Devastating events – disappointments; reversals; anything you didn’t want but got anyway; Plan B, not Plan A; things that discourage, that disappoint; things that threaten your well-being and threaten your understanding of the purposes of God?

We know what it is like to see our lives plunged into turmoil. We know what it is like to see our plans dashed. We know what it is like to see our dreams crushed. Every one of us has had that. … When those things happen to us, they will either make us bitter or they will make us better. It will be one or the other.

photo: sentosa, singapore

Seeing God in the midst of devastating events: These things didn’t happen outside the understanding of God. They don’t surprise God. These devastating events that Satan may have meant for our ill, God means for our good. He will bring us through those devastating events into an encounter with Him. He is preparing to meet us in a special way.

If we look carefully into the devastating events of our lives and into those things that threaten our well-being, we will find that there is a burning bush, and God is endeavouring, through those devastating events to bring us to Himself.

source: James T. Draper, Jr (2004) Joy for the Journey in Preaching with Passion

Never Refuse Friendship

"Never refuse any advance of friendship, for if nine out of ten bring you nothing, one alone may repay you." - Claudine Guérin de Tencin, French socialite and author.

photo: at wildlife reserves singapore.

The Stilling of the Storm (Luke 8:22-25)

A great sense of relief... I have just completed today my lecture series for this semester. The title of the lecture today is “Riding the Market Cycles”; and the synopsis is – Getting started is the largest single challenge in the real estate business. Surviving when faced with adversity is a close second since the real estate market goes through cycles of boom and bust. I would like to anchor this sharing on a key point in my lecture, which is weathering the storm.

Today, I would like to share my reflections on a familiar passage in Luke 8:22-25... One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
There are many valuable lessons we can learn from this story. For example, the Life Application Bible suggests that “when caught in the storm of life, it is easy to think that God has lost control and we’re at the mercy of the winds of fate. In reality, God is sovereign. He controls the history of the world as well as our personal destinies. Just as Jesus calmed the waves, he can calm whatever storms we may face.”

But tonight, I find comfort in the writing of Robert Llewelyn, entitled The Stilling of the Storm. As you read the scripture passage in Luke 8, consider this point… that there is a sense in which Jesus worked this miracle unwillingly. The impression is that the better way would have been for the disciples to have passed through the storm confidently and courageously, and that the miracle was worked as a concession of their weakness. “Why are you fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

What is the storm that you are facing right now? Whatever it is, God could remove this obstacle, this trial which presses heavily upon you, by an act of power, as Jesus stilled the winds and the waves on the Galilean lake. And sometimes he does remove the storm, and we may praise him for it, for he knows best. But it may be that his primary will for us is, as was his primary will for his disciples, not that the storm should be removed but that we should pass through it with untroubled hearts and our faith intact.

In his writing, Llewelyn recounted the case of a woman of remarkable faith and character who worked as a matron in a school he was serving in India. He remember the day when she told him that she had been diagnosed as suffering from cancer, and that she would have to leave the school for a period to undergo an operation and treatment. In his words, “We had a special service of intercession for her and many remarked on the Spirit’s power on that occasion. I have no doubt that God could have arrested the cancer and reversed the decaying process by a single act of power had he so willed, but he chose not to remove the storm but to see her through it. I had a letter from her – telling of the indescribable peace and sense of God’s protecting love as she awaited her operation in the ward and then on the operating table. She was out of the hospital in less than half the expected time – no doubt her deep trust and acceptance assisted her recovery – and she lived for another thirty years.”

Llewelyn went on to conclude, “May we not believe that God wrought a deeper service for this person by drawing out her faith and courage, and our faith and love – seeing her through the storm – than would have been possible if the storm has been removed?” It may be that we often get our priorities wrong in these matters. We look for our storms to be removed whereas God would have us pass through them in serenity and trust. For the one who had built their house upon the rock of the gospel we are not told that they would be protected from storm and tempest. We are told rather that when the rain fell, and the floods came, and the storm raged the house remained standing. That was their reward: the house stood firm!

Whatever trials we are going through, as the Psalmist went through in Psalm 46, may we take time to be still and know (and exalt) Him as God! The Lord Almighty is with us; the Lord is our fortress; our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear (Psalms 46:7, 11, 1, 2).

A Friendly Trail

"Try leaving a friendly trail of little sparks of gratitude on your daily trips. You will be surprised how they will set flames of friendship that will be rose beacons on your next visit."

- Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People.

Is Your Life Green & Blossoming? (Matthew 3: 8 - 10)

Outside my office stands an old “tree of enlightenment” which has been faithfully producing fruits. It provides shelter and food to many species of birds, which allowed me to take close-up photos of the birds (see below)...
This morning, my devotion/study is focused on the passage in Matthew 3:8-10. John the Baptist admonished the religious leaders to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance…; every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” This verse is often cross-referenced to Acts 26:20, in which Paul shared “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds."
It is not my intention to enter into the debate of the role of faith and works in salvation here. Suffice to say Jesus’ harshest words were to the respectable leaders who lacked the desire for real change… they want to be known as religious authorities; but they didn’t want to change their hearts and minds. Rather, my meditation was on how productive is our life… The Message paraphrased the passage in Matthew as follows: What count is your life: Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s dead wood, it goes on the fire…”

In the book of Matthew, the passage went on cover baptism with water and with the Holy Spirit & fire. For the purpose of my meditation this morning, I prefer the follow-up passage in Luke 3. The same incident of John the Baptist admonishing the hypocritical religious leaders and his reference to the fruitful tree is reported in verses 7 - 9, but what was interesting was the follow-up passage from verses 10-14. In response to John’s teaching, three groups of people (the crowd, tax collectors & soldiers) asked him the same question, “WHAT SHOULD WE DO THEN?”

.

In his reply, John gave three specific and practical responses:
(1) share what you have with those who need it;
(2) whatever your job, do it well and with fairness, and
(3) be content with what you are earning.
His advice is worth repeating: share what you have, do your work honestly and well, and be content! Let us reflect and ask ourselves: What count is your life: Is it green and blossoming?

.

Source:
Life Application Bible & The Message

What a Waste! (Mark 14:4-5)

 From one perspective, the Dawn Prayer I attended last week was a waste of time!

This year, the dawn prayer week coincides with a busy period for me. I could only attend one session on the fourth day. By Wednesday night, I was totally exhausted from conducting an executive training course the previous two days. It was also the start of the new academic year, so there were many meetings and important stuff crying out for my attention. Go for Dawn Prayer? Waking up early and reaching church by 6.00 am to pray? No thanks, what I need most was physical rest... sleep! (Even the pastor jested that the last time he woke up so early was a year ago, during last year’s dawn prayer).

But I found myself amongst a gathering of God’s people at the dawn prayer on Thursday (August 4). What happened at the dawn prayer was the same routine you would get in a usual church service or CG meeting… opening prayer, worship, word, and pray… Come to think about it, we didn’t get to pray much… at most 10 mins?

I am sure many have testified how tremendously blessed they were from attending the Dawn Prayer. Well, what I received that morning was nothing out of the extraordinary… In fact, I found the worship normal, the word sharing good and the prayer session short! Well, I did sensed a closeness to God during worship and also felt God speaking to me during the word exhortation, but really this is no different from having a good daily communion time with God.

Let me do a cost-and-benefit analysis of my attending the Dawn Prayer… 2 hours of sleep, ½ hour stuck in the morning heavy traffic after the service, and the feeling of tiredness throughout the day... as they say, walking half asleep, half awake…! So, from one perspective, it is a waste of time!

However, I learnt from the pastor’s sharing from Mark 14:1-11 at the Dawn Prayer that nothing offered to God sacrificially is a waste of time. What men would considered as wasteful, from Jesus’ perspective, it is considered as worship!

Case in point is the incident where Mary broke the alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it lavishly on Jesus. Consider the cost of this act – the perfume was worth a year’s wages… so if you are earning $60,000 a year, imagine spending the whole amount at one go… 

When the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, for what purpose is all this waste? And they rebuked her harshly (Mark 14:4-5). In a way, they are justified to think that Mary was wasteful… imagine what could be done with $60,000? Wouldn’t it be better utilized to feed the poor and hungry? Their reasoning, giving money to the poor & helping people in a more practical way, was certainly reasonable, but an excuse nonetheless… indeed men are good at justifying their actions… working hard to provide for the family, spending time with family, taking care of the next generation, helping others, and taking a rest … they are all good reasons, but they could also be excuses for not ministering to the Lord. 

Our alabaster jar is filled with a precious thing… our whole life. Like Mary, we need to break it and give it ALL to the Lord. To the world, this is a waste, but that is what God wants… that we pour out our life to HIM! To the world giving of oneself to Jesus is a pure waste. They say, why pour it out and waste it on Jesus? Waste simply means giving too much… Waste means you give something too much for something too little… But let us not be waste conscious Christians who give as little as possible to the Lord and yet want to get as much as possible from Him. Often waste gives us an excuse not to do anything…

 

Three more thoughts:

1) “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:3)… when we break our alabaster to minister to Jesus in an act of loving extravagance and spontaneous generosity, others around us will be blessed too.
2) “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me…”, said Jesus (Mark 14: 6-9). Just as he rose to Mary’s defense, Jesus is our defender when the world accuses us of being wasteful to the Lord! 

3) “She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:8). Christ’s death on the cross is but a costly outpouring of God’s love for the world. For God so love the world that He wasted his one and only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us so that we may have everlasting life. As Christians, we are the recipients of God’s wasteful love.

Exhortation:Let us waste our time and resources in sacrificial service and giving to the Lord. In the eyes of God, worship is never wasteful! The real waste is when we use our life and resources for temporal things. What a waste then! Rather, let’s be wasted for Jesus!

..................................................................

Monuments & Legacy

LEGACY - What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.... “If I have done any deed worthy of remembrance, that deed will be my
monument. If not, no monument can preserve my memory” - Agesilaus II.

"Monuments! What are they? The very pyramids have forgotten their builders, or to whom they were dedicated. Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great." - John Lothrop Motley.

photo: pryamids of Giza, Egypt (Dec 2010)

The Two Rails Life

We have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.... "I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life... No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.... And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for." - Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life.

photo: railway track along Upper Bt. Timah Rd, Singapore

Continue to Climb

Whatever the struggle, continue the climb... "I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” (anon).

photo: steps up Mt Faber, S'pore

How Long........? (Psalms 13)

Having sorrow in your heart daily? Your enemies rejoicing over your troubles? Lost the sparkle in your eyes? Lost the song in your heart? Lost the rest in your sleep?

We just came back from a 2-week working and holiday trip to the US and UK. Amongst the many places we visited, we spent four days in State College... the place where we spent our sabbatical more than 3 years ago; where this blog was first initiated. We connected with old friends and visited the church, which was starting a new series on the book Psalms... I was refreshed by the sermon and decided to focus my bible reading over the next few months on Psalms.

This morning, I read and meditated on Psalms 13. It is a short one... containing only 6 verses. The context of the prayer is that of an anguished complaint concerning a prolonged serious problem that threatens death. It begins with a question, "How long, O LORD?"

The feeling of “being forgotten” is addressed in this psalm. King David, the author of this psalm, frequently claimed that God was slow to act on his behalf. Don’t we feel the same impatience? We can identify with the author as he enumerates having sorry in his heart daily; we have been through these situations; we’ve lost the sparkle in our eyes; we’ve lost the song in our heart; we’ve lost the restedness in your sleep; and our enemies are rejoicing and triumphing over our troubles!

BUT…. despite these, King David found hope and confidence in God… He remembered God’s unfailing love. In the last two verses, David affirmed that he would continue to trust God no matter how long he had to wait for God’s justice and deliverance to be realized.

Are you waiting for relief from despair? Like King David, we must continue to trust God even when he doesn’t answer us immediately… Join me in my prayer for today, which is anchored on Psalms 13: 5-6.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”

Don't Fuss, Relax!

Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance – but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?
- Luke 12
photo: http://abbylanesphotography.blogspot.com/

It has been a long while since I posted my reflections from the Word of God. Today is Good Friday… I decided to take the time this morning to reflect on my journey as a Christian and to thank God for his goodness all these years. My recent meditations have been on THANKSGIVING... "So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strenghtened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7). Jerry Bridges in his class book The Practice of Godliness wrote that "thanksgiving is a normal result of a vital union with Christ, and a direct measure of the extent to which we are experiencing the reality of that union in our daily lives."

From the Message Bible, Luke 12 continues... "What I am trying to do here is to get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and how he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself."

Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo

The most conspicuous and well-known drongo is all the biggest in the region and the most spectacular. Glossy black bird with red eye, large size and somewhat rounded crown.

S'pore Botanic Gardens

Tailed forked not square, the two outer feathers having elongated bare shafts (up to 25 com) and large rounded and twisted racquets. Many birds have one or both racquets broken off, but traces of elongated broken shafts are usually visible, and large size, profile and forked tail without any upturning at tips are then distinctive.

Bt Timah Nature Reserves

Calls frequently, giving a variety of harsh and bubbling, bell-like notes, including good imitations of many other birds. Found in lowland forest, plantations, secondary growth. I have seen this bird in several places in Singapore, notably in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Southern Ridges.

Source:

Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (2007)
Birds of Malaysia and Singapore (2010)

Black-Naped Oriole

A very common resident and familiar to many Singaporeans as it occurs whereever there are sufficient tall trees in which to perch and feed. It is a most attractive bird of brilliant yellow plumage with a wide black stripe through the eye and round the back of the neck, with a distinctive red bill.
It frequents tree tops and never comes to the ground preferring to feed on fruits, berries, and insects on the foliage. Its fast and direct flight can easily be recognised at a distance due to the unusual manner of freezing its flapping motion at intervals.

A very vocal bird particularly first thing in the morning and has a variety of flufy notes issued in a rapid ascending and descending manner. Call is a melodious four-note whistle, "what the devil!" with much individual variation.

Source:
A Guide to Common Birds of Singapore (2002); Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (2007)

Olive-Backed Sunbird

The olive-backed sunbird, which is the smallest of sunbirds, is a common resident seen wherever there are suitable flowering shrubs and may occur regularly in parks and gardens very close to buildings. Tiny but very active, often in pairs, with territorial males pursuing each other from treetop to treetop.

The male (above) has an irridescent purple throat contrasting sharply with the bright yellow breast and the latter feature is also present on the female (below). The olive back is a confusing distinction as many other females have this but note that the white tips of the tail feathers which help to separate it from the similar and equally common Brown-throated Sunbird.

The sunbird takes nectar from a wide range of flower species and shapes, including mangrove trees as well as garden flowers, plus many invertebrates, especially spiders. Continuous calls as it feeds with precise clicking noises. Builds a bulbous nest of moss and lichen as shown in the photograph above.

source:
A Guide to Common Birds of Singapore (2002)
Birds of Malaysia and Singapore (2010)

Scaly-Breasted Munia

One of the commoner munias in gardens and towns, this bird can often be seen on overgrown roadside verges. At close quarters, it is a very attractive bird which has white spots on the breast in the shape of scales and a large seed-eating bill typical of its family.

photo: Dairy Farm Nature Park, S'pore

Commonly found in the short or long grass of parks, gardens, golf courses and rural areas, always occuring in small flocks which may comprise other munias. It is a common resident and will nest in low bushes making a structure of domed grass.

Eats many types of grass seed, as well as ripening rice. Often hunted by birds of prey and are constantly on the move in rapid fluctuating flight before gliding into cover to other feeding locations.

Source:

A Guide to the Common Birds of Singapore (2002)
Birds of Malaysia and Singapore (2010)
Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (1995)