I visited the Jurong Bird Park and found it deserted, except for the beautiful birds and their caretakers. Enjoying the surprising calm and wary of the setting sun, I hurried along to take in as much as I could in the pouring rain.

Trudging along the rainforest, close to the spectacular 100-ft Jurong waterfall, I heard a voice saying ‘Hello’. I turned around and there was no one; I moved along even faster!

Then I noticed a beautiful black bird following my path; He would swoop ahead of me and I would hear a ‘Hello’.

I skeptically greeted him back and there it was again, a ‘Hello’ from the bird himself. Having made my acquaintance, he accompanied me around – hovering to match my pace, allowed me to feed him a papaya and even take his pictures while he peered curiously at me.

It was a magical afternoon and one I won’t forget too soon.

P.S. Thanks to David of Incidental Naturalist, I now know that my feathered friend is a ‘Hill Mynah’.

If you are interested to know more about the birds in the region, take a look at this beautifully illustrated guide – Birds of Southeast Asia.