Banking on the grass seeds

Chestnut Munia ( Lonchura atricupilla) with characteristic 'black hood'

Heads down to pluck the seeds

 The Pipit Rawa (Malay) is a very common bird in the park but is not usually easy to get a good picture of it.  This is because being  a social bird it travels in a small flock like what I encountered today.  I had to hide behind a wall of bushes to enable me a closer view of the birds.  It was my lucky day as one of the birds was not alert to my presence and thus afforded me a little bit of luxury in getting up- close and personal images of the bird eating the grass seeds.  I have seen its habit of hanging on the grass stalk and while the grass bends the bird would attempt to pluck the grass seeds heads down.   At the inset , the bird has to bend low in order to pluck the grass seeds.  Its stout beak is perfectly structured to assist in crunching the seed before consuming it. The presence of grassland at the park has proven the wisdom of maintaining them to function as food banks for little birds like the munias.

 

A 'black hood' makes this bird very likeable.  The feathers seemed well-groomed.  The chestnut colour throughout the body is attractive against the greenery.
Grassland at Zone F

Leave the grasses alone

Zone B, view looking west

 Swathes of grass cover are important in many respects.  At the park, its is an integral part of the design philosophy.  Firstly, the low mass of thick green cover are an important hideout and safe passage for the Samba deers that visit the park during the night.  The grasses produce seeds that are an important source of food to birds e.g. the pipits.  The dried grass blades and stems are used by birds to build their nests.  The swampy areas where grasses thrive and remain uncut are nesting grounds for such lovely birds like the White-breasted water hen.  In terms of cultural practice management, the presence of grass reserves tremendously save time and resources in keeping them untouched rather than the costly practice of grasscutting them weekly or monthly or even killing them with weedicide.  The grass blades and stems provide perches for small insects like dragonflies and butterflies.  Finally in landscaping aesthetics, the bold wash of light greenery provides soft buffer or  transition to the ground floor.  This helps soften the eye view and enhance compositional perspectives as the eye moves from a richly textured column of leaves above to the even and finely cut lawn at the ground level, thus making the watching experience pleasurable.

Zone B, view looking south

Zone F, view looking south

Swathes of grass cover at the ground storey, oil palm trees at middle storey and exotic fruit trees at top storey in the landscape composition.