Heard the characteristic dull tukh tukh sound which comes from a coppersmith barbet whilst at the Pasir Ris Mangroves. I have heard the characteristic call at other forested locations around Singapore, but have never managed to see the bird in action. I made it a point to search it out and located the tree which I thought it was in by walking around it and listening to the repeating 'tukh tukh' sound. After a few frustrating minutes at each branch looking for what was essentially a needle in a haystack, I did managed to spot it on a high branch near the edge of the mangrove.
There were quite a few other bird chirps from other birds in the area as well as the ding-ding from a passing cyclist.
There were quite a few other bird chirps from other birds in the area as well as the ding-ding from a passing cyclist.
It stayed on the tree for about ten minutes in total (at least from when I first heard it) afterwhich it flew to another tree in the park about 50 metres away where it stayed and called out for about a minute before flying off again further into the park.
Why is it called a Coppersmith Barbet? This is because of the characteristic dull tukh tukh sound which somewhat resembles the sound made by a coppersmith's hammer repeatedly hitting a copper sheet.
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