Search

Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker feeding on guava

on 11th September 2010

“Was a wet night followed by an overcast day, so after 1.5 hrs in the forest decided to watch at the brighter fringe. Visited this orchard located at the edge of the forest reserve. Was pleasantly surprised to find an adult male Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker (Prionochilus percussus ignicapilla) feeding on guava (Psidium guajava).

“This is the guava of my childhood, often called jambu batu (stone guava) – a bit on the hard side, smallish with lots of seeds. The ones sold today that are large, fleshy, sweet and seedless.

“I arrived when he did at the fruit and I watched for the next half hour as he progressively worked his way into the fruit. He was quite selective and often threw away bits that seemed ?hard (he had not reached the interior seed area yet, so these were not seeds).

“We reached a tacit agreement that he would feast on the fruit and I would feast on his beauty and behaviour. This unspoken ‘agreement’ allowed me to watch at 2-3 meter distance. I was even able to go get my tripod and do a few videos of the activity. When I bid farewell he was still busy feeding.

“Although know to eat mainly fruit I have yet to see reports of feeding on guava. Usually the fruit is much smaller.

“See this site on the Palawan Flowerpecker (Prionochilus plateni), similar to the Crimson-breasted Flowerpecker, feeding on a guava.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
31th July 2010

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

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
1184
15129
Visitors Today
51730017
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)