Feeding Spotted Dove: 14. Papaya seeds

The fruits of the papaya (Carica papaya) are a favourite with many species of birds. These birds peck on the fruits as soon as they are ripe on the trees. As there is always an abundant supply of flesh, there is no need to eat the seeds, if at all these birds do eat the seeds.

I am not sure whether anyone has ever reported on any species of birds that actually prefer the seeds to the flesh. But I did try to find out whether the common garden birds would actually eat the seeds when offered a ripe fruit cut open with the seeds exposed – see HERE. The result? A few seeds were eaten but probably taken accidentally. But these birds, mainly Yellow-vented Bulbul (Acridotheres javanicus) and Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) are not true “seed-eaters”.

Then one day Tan Teo Seng mentioned to me that Spotted Doves (Streptopelia chinensis) do eat papaya seeds. And with the pair of doves still visiting my garden, I was eager to prove him right.

Seeds from ripe papayas were placed in a dish and offered to the Spotted Doves. But they would not come near the container, being suspicious of any container, even when it contains birdseeds.

So I scattered papaya seeds on the ground and then sprinkle birdseeds over and around them. This attracted the Spotted Doves as well as the Eurasian Tree Sparrows. The former preferred the birdseeds but every now and then would peck on the papaya seeds. Not so the sparrows, who go only for the birdseeds. But lately, a Spotted Dove appeared and apparently prefer papaya seeds to birdseeds (above).

“It is to be noted that any papaya seeds taken by a Spotted Dove would be thoroughly crushed in its muscular gizzard, as commented by Prof Richard Corlett HERE. As such the bird would serve no purpose to the plant as the former would not be able to help disperse the seeds.

YC Wee
Singapore
November 2010