Not too long ago, crows were making headlines for terrorising unsuspecting people in Orchard and Bishan.
While getting injured by their beaks and sharp claws is no fun for human beings, the experience is undoubtedly a lot more terrifying for a tiny bird.
Recently, a man was on his way to work at Raffles Place when he saw a small parrot getting attacked by two crows.
Source: Adam Maniam on Facebook
He initially refrained from doing anything but stepped in to help after others intervened.
In a post about the crow sighting in the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group on Wednesday (27 March), Adam Maniam said he was heading to work that morning when he witnessed a pair of crows attacking a tiny green bird.
The 41-year-old dispute resolution lawyer identified the latter as a blue-crowned hanging parrot.
Source: Adam Maniam on Facebook
However, Mr Maniam said he did not try to save the parrot as his “usual modus operandi is to just leave nature alone”.
“To be clear, if I see an animal that is injured or distressed, I will do what I can to help it,” he told MS News, adding that the incident happened at around 9am near OUE Bayfront.
“But if I see one animal attacking another and both of them are wild animals, not pets, it can be difficult to decide what exactly to do. If you save a life, you make another animal go hungry. In this case, the parrot was a wild bird, not a pet.”
Source: Adam Maniam on Facebook
He continued: “While there is generally a negative sentiment towards invasive pests like crows and a positive sentiment towards cute and colourful animals like the parrot, it is not always clear what the correct thing to do is in such situations, which is why I usually let nature take its course.”
That said, Mr Maniam, a wildlife photography enthusiast, clarified that he loves animals.
In fact, just a few months ago, he shared another story about helping a young crested goshawk that showed up in front of his house.
His account of how he cared for the scared, lost bird touched hearts and went viral on Facebook.
Recounting the incident involving the crows and the parrot, Mr Maniam noted that the bigger birds were pecking at it, backing off, and then pecking at it again.
Source: Adam Maniam on Facebook
Suddenly, a pair of tourists from Australia stepped in to chase the bullies away and save the parrot.
Since someone else had intervened, Mr Maniam decided to offer his assistance as well.
First, he gave the couple the number for the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
He then took them to a nearby money changer so they could get some local currency while deciding what to do next.
In the meantime, the woman fed the parrot some water out of a bottle cap.
Source: Adam Maniam on Facebook
This seemed to work as the parrot “perked up quite quickly” after that.
According to Mr Maniam, it did not seem to have any visible injuries and looked “tired but otherwise well”.
He later went to his office to get a box where the couple could keep the parrot.
When he returned, the couple told him that the parrot had left.
“They happily informed me that the bird hopped onto one of their backpacks, flew down to the ground, and then flew away.”
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Featured image adapted from Adam Maniam on Facebook.
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