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Yellow-vented Bulbul does swallow some fruits but not others

on 18th February 2006

In an earlier posting it was said that Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) does not swallow Alexandra palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) fruits. It pecks on the outer pulp, leaving the fruit on the branch with patches exposing the seed.

With the MacArthur palm (Ptychosperma macarthurii) (above), I have noticed that this bird does swallow the fruits whole. Although I have not seen it regurgitating the seeds, I did find a few patches of faeces with seeds on my driveway. It is possible that the bulbul passed out the seeds?

However, I have been puzzled by the presence of many individual seeds of this palm, cleaned of pulp, scattered along my driveway (left). I do not grow this palm in my garden. These seeds must have been regurgitated by some birds. Can it be the Pink-necked green Pigeon (Treron vernans) that regularly perch on the overhanging ceram palm (Rhopaloblaste ceramica) fronds?

And why does the bulbul swallows fruits of the MacArthur palm but not those of the Alexandra palm? The answer lies in the size of the two seeds. Alexandra palm fruits are nearly round, 12×10 mm, with a single large round seed that is about 9×8 mm in dimension. The flesh is a thin layer of 2-3 mm thick. Although the fruit of the MacArthur palm is of similar size, the seed is very much smaller. It is 10 mm long but only 5 mm broad.

Obviously we have much to learn about the feeding habits of our common birds.

Transverse sections of fruits of MacArthur (left) and Alexandra (right) palms.

Seeds of MacArthur (left) and Alexandra (right) palms.

Scale in mm.
All images by YC.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

8 Responses

  1. Bulbuls will eat most soft fruits. I have learned from trial and error that they will try practically anything edible, including what we normally consider to be vegetables, such as cucumbers, gourds and squashes. Secret is to hang up the offerings at their eye level close to their perches.

    Please remember that bulbuls are omnivorous, and will suffer from malnutrition and other diseases caused by diet deficiencies if they do not receive animal protein. I always feed crickets, mealworms and hardboiled egg yolk to my birds.

    Some of them will also drink the nectar which I feed to lorikeets.

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