S'pore visited by tiny but adorable predator, the very rare black-thighed falconet

A rare guest has arrived in Singapore.

It's tiny, fierce, and also very adorable.

The black-thighed falconet is the world's smallest bird of prey, and it was recently sighted by wildlife photographer Anderson Ng on Feb. 26.

The bird, which is around 14cm to 16cm long, roughly the same size as a sparrow, was hunting along a park connector near Punggol North Ave.

Fluffy

Speaking to Mothership, Ng shared that he spotted the falconet in 2024 at Ponggol Seventeenth Ave, and returned to the same spot today in hopes of seeing it again.

The bird however, turned out to be "far far away", he wrote in a post on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group.

Coupled with poor lighting, Ng was unable to capture more crisp shots.

Nevertheless, here are some photos of the fluffy predator.

Ng spent two hours there observing the falconet perched on a branch till he suffered from "neck pain liao".

Unfortunately, he was unable to shoot it capturing any prey.

Made a reappearance in 2021

The black-thighed falconet used to be considered a resident species of Singapore. This is because there have been specimens collected locally, as well as records of it up till the 1990s.

However, it was believed to have become extirpated (locally extinct) thereafter, according to the Singapore Bird Group.

In 2021, the species made a reappearance, and three separate sightings were recorded in that year alone.

There have been sightings recorded via the Bird Society of Singapore's Birds of Singapore database every year since then.

Top photo courtesy of Anderson Ng