Saltwater Crocodile Earth’s largest living crocodilian—and, some say, the animal most likely to eat a human—is the saltwater or estuarine crocodile. Average-sized males reach 17 feet (5 meters) and 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), but specimens 23 feet (7 meters) long and weighing 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) are not uncommon. Saltwater crocs, or "salties," as Australians affectionately refer to them, have an enormous range, populating the brackish and freshwater regions of eastern India, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. They are excellent swimmers and have often been spotted far out at sea. Classic opportunistic predators, they lurk patiently beneath the surface near water's edge waiting for potential prey to stop for a sip of water. They’ll feed on anything they can get their jaws on, including water buffalo, monkeys, wild boar, and even sharks. Without warning, they explode from the water with a thrash of their powerful tails, grasp their victim, and drag it back in, holding it under until the animal drowns.

Pacific Swallow
Hirundo tahitica
Layang Layang Pasifik (Malay)

Pacific Swallows eat insects, catching them during flight. To feast on swarming insects, they may join other birds like Swifts. But unlike Swifts that simply trawl the air with their mouths open, Swallows don't hunt on the wing. They perch and wait, then actually chase after individual prey and perform aerial acrobatics to catch them. Swallows also hunt at lower levels than Swifts.
Unlike Swifts, Swallows can perch and also come to the ground to drink or gather nesting material.Pacific Swallows are found everywhere, but usually near water and open country. In Singapore, they are particularly common along the coasts, and also found in mangroves.Migration? Pacific Swallows are resident. They are never found in such huge flocks as the visiting Barn Swallows, which they closely resemble.Although they may feed together with Barn Swallows, they don't join the Barn Swallows huge roosts.Breeding: Resident Pacific Swallows nest on vertical surfaces with overhangs to protect their mud nest (which would disintegrate in the rain). These may be cliffs with an overhang but are often bridges, dams and other man-made structures. But they shy away from humans and prefer unoccupied buildings. They build solid nests out of mud pellets brought by the beakful from puddles and river banks. Combined with dry grasses, these pellets are arranged much like bricks to form shallow cups. These may be lined with dry grass and feathers. At a particularly suitable nest site, they may form large colonies. Usually 3 white eggs are laid. These are long and pointed and have brown spots.

Storm's Stork (Ciconia stormi)
Family: CICONIIDAE
A small, worldwide family of very large birds with long powerful beaks. They have long legs, broad wings, and short tails. They feed mostly on fish or small animals, which they catch while stalking quietly in open wet areas.

Storks are strong fliers and several species migrate over large distances. They are experts at soaring on thermals and often circle high in the sky, gaining height for easy travel, or searching for likely feeding places.

There are four resident species in the Greater Sundas and three doubtful vagrants.

Description: Large (80 cm) black and white stork with slightly upturned, red bill. Wings, back, crown, and breast black; throat, nape, belly, and tail white. Bare facial skin pinkish red, especially in breeding season. Bare eye-ring is yellow. Distinguished from Woolly-necked Stork by black side of neck, yellow eye-ring, lack of white forehead, and redder bill, but note Javan form of Woolly-necked Stork also has reddish bill and reaches S Sumatra. Immature has black plumage replaced by brown.
Iris-red; bill-red; legs and feet-pink.

Voice: Bill clapping.

Range: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.

Distribution and status: Sparsely distributed in freshwater swamp and swamp forests in lowlands of Sumatra (including Mentawai) and Borneo. One record from W Java in 1920 (specimen in Bogor museum).

Habits: Frequents dense swamp forests and nests in colonies.

Mangrove Snake
(Bioga dendrophila melanota)
Mildly venomous










This handsome snake occurs mainly in lowland jungles and mangrove swamps. Its bluish-black body is marked by 40 to 50 narrow, yellow crossbars. Various sub-species have been recorded and the one described here is found in Malaysia and east Sumatra.Its colour pattern is reminiscent of that of the deadly venomous Banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus), though in the latter, the black and yellow bands are of more or less equal width.The Mangrove Snake rests coiled up among the branches which span over streams or rivers and becomes active at dusk when it hunts for birds and eggs as well as rodents. Its usually docile nature makes it a favorite among snake charmers. However, when provoked, it will bite with little warning. About 4 to 15 eggs are laid per clutch, and the incubation period is about 3 months. One captive Mangrove Snake was recorded to deposit 3 clutches totaling 25 eggs over a 12-month period. Newly hatched Mangrove Snake are about 340 mm long and resemble the adult in coloration, except for the pinkish or orange rings on the hatchlings' tails. When mature, the Mangrove Snake reaches length of about 2.5 m.