• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

How Singapore Became an Unexpected Stronghold for a Critically Endangered Bird

Michie

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Feb 5, 2002
182,649
66,172
Woods
✟5,926,157.00
Country
United States
Gender
Female
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
From the sprawling urban city-state of Singapore comes the unlikely story of a critically endangered songbird and a dedicated group of environmentalists helping it thrive as the population collapses overseas.

The straw-headed bulbul is a victim of its beautiful song, which has seen it extirpated from the wilds of Thailand, Myanmar, and Java as poachers capture it for the illegal songbird trade.

But as early as 1990, conservationists, birdwatchers, and government workers in Singapore have taken action on this species’ behalf.

“Whenever I hear its resonant, bubbly song, the forest seems to erupt with life,” conservationist Ho Hua Chew told Smithsonian Magazine.

Because of men like Ho, the peripheral wetlands of Singapore, the offshore island of Pulau Ubin, and the large green spaces in the city state’s interior together play host to 600 straw-headed bulbuls.

Continued below.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: DJWhalen