
Wildlife photographers in Singapore have been in a tizzy recently over sights of an uncommon visitor to Singapore — the Asian openbill.
Large flocks of the birds were seen at Tampines and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
The species is considered a vagrant in Singapore, which refers to migratory birds that end up in areas outside of their normal geographic range or migration path.
Perched in tree
One photographer, Anderson Ng, was able to capture a flock of around 30 openbills perching on a tree at Tampines Ave 9 on Jan. 31, 2025.
He told Mothership that in addition to the 30, there were many "randomly flying around that area".
Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
Ng and other photographers observed the birds for around 1.5 hours, before the flock flew to another open field.
Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
The species is a lifer for Ng, a term which birders use to describe a species they've sighted for the first time.
"I was happy to see so many, especially in Tampines area," he added.
Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
"When the openbills started to land in the field, the flocks of egrets and crows had to give up their territories and that was a beautiful sight with so many birds flying off," Ng recalled.
Crows taking off. Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
Another photographer, Kow Hao Rui, also captured a shot of a huge flock of openbills flying above Sungei Buloh on Feb. 1.
Photo from Kow Hao Rui / FB
Not the first time such numbers seen in Singapore
The openbill is so named for the gap between their upper and lower mandibles.
Young birds are born without this gap, which is believed to be an adaptation that helps them feed on their main source of food, snails.
Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
They are migratory birds, and can cover long distances in response to weather conditions and food availability.
Photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
This is not the first time such a huge flock has been seen in Singapore.
In 2019, hundreds of openbills were spotted flying around Choa Chu Kang.
According to Birds of Singapore, around 5,000 individuals were recorded in Singapore between December 2019 and March 2021.
Top photo courtesy of Anderson Ng
MORE STORIES