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Bullying happens in the animal kingdom as well, and one bird photographer Gordon Koh caught a first-hand sighting of a murder of crows attacking another large bird.
Pursuit and attack
Koh told Mothership he was at Gardens by the Bay on the morning of Nov. 6, when he noticed around 10 crows surround a juvenile raptor on a tree.
The raptor, a Black-winged kite, that had just fledged, then took off from its nesting tree.
This led to a dramatic chase, with the murder of crows going after the kite in swift pursuit.
Koh managed to snap some rather theatrical shots of the avians.
Photo courtesy of Gordon Koh
Photo courtesy of Gordon Koh
Although the Black-winged kite is a predator, and crows are scavengers, both birds are almost of the same size, as seen from Koh's photos.
Photo courtesy of Gordon Koh
At one point during the aerial brawl, one crow sneaked up on the kite from behind and pulled on its right wing feathers.
Koh shared that the kite attempted to escape from the crow's grip, and later sought refuge in its nesting tree without sustaining any serious injury.
Photo courtesy of Gordon Koh
The crows "loitered around for a while" before getting bored and flying off, Koh said.
Koh described the incident as "absolute insanity". Although he had seen crows harass other birds before, this was the first time he spotted the crows making direct contact with their target.
More about the Black-winged kite
The Black-winged kite is an uncommon resident in Singapore even though their conservation status is classified to be least concern, according to Singapore Birds Project website.
The adults have a distinct red iris.
They have been spotted in various parts of Singapore such as Kranji Marsh, Hampstead Wetlands Park and Tuas.
Here's an interesting fun fact: The recreational flying object kite was named after this type of raptors.
Other kites you can find in Singapore are Brahminy kites.
Top photo courtesy of Gordon Koh