Cattail, also known as bulrush (Typha angustifolia) is an aquatic plant with 2 m long, narrow leaves that grow vertically up. The unisexual flowers are small and densely crowded along the end of an equally tall spike. The male flowers are crowded along the tip of the spike while the female flowers, appearing more compact, darker brown and distinctly cigar-like, are found below. The two types of flowers are separated by a short bare portion of the spike. The fruits are minute and covered with fluffy hairs that help them in wind dispersal.
Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers (Dicaeum cruentatum) regularly collect the hairy fruits when they ripen. These birds can be seen perching along the spike and carefully picking at the fluff. In the process they shake off more of the fruits than they collect. This no doubt helps in the natural dispersal of the fruits (below).
The fluff is used to line the inside of their pouch-like nests. Various sunbirds also use these fluff to line their nests.
According to our bird specialist, R. Subaraj, cattails make an excellent habitat for certain birds such as bitterns, reed-warblers and rails. They also provide a good hiding place for various waterbirds.
budak
Great revamp!
There’s also a new bird blog at gloriousbirds.blogspot.com !!
Tang
Some two years ago when I was observing a pair of nesting Scarlet-backed Flowerpeckers, I was wondering what is the cotton-like material that they used for internal lining of their nests. Now the puzzle is solved! Thanks YC.
It is also interesting to think how far they had to fly to gather the material. The location of the nest was near Raffles Town Club. I would therefore think that the birds collected the materials from the Cattail in Singapore Botanical Gardens.
Bird Ecology Study Group » Anatomy of a nest: Olive-backed Sunbird
[…] floss is available at the time of nest construction. There are a number of alternatives, like bulrush or cattail (Typha angustifolia) (below right) and kapok (Ceiba pentandra) (below […]