9 Jan 2011

Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker eating fruit of Indian cherry

by | posted in: Feeding strategy, Feeding-plants, Videography, Waste | 1

Lena Chow’s video clip, a merged clip actually, stitched together and uploaded by KC Tsang to YouTube. The video, made on the 26th September 2010, shows a female and a male Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) doing what they do everyday…

The female flowerpecker attempted at picking a ripe Indian cherry (Muntingia calabura), succeeding only after a few attempts. The problem was that the fruit was wider than the bird’s gape. Once firmly between her mandibles, she proceeded to squash the fruit, directing the sweet pulp into her throat. This took nearly half a minute before the empty fruit shell was discarded.

The second part of the video shows a male flowerpecker pooing, excreting two large yellowish blobs of wastes. The second blob ended up on the twig where he was perching.

Follow 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.

  1. Angie
    | Reply

    Wow!! Thanks, Lena, you’ve captured the male SBFlowerpecker poo-ing 2 blobs of the gummy mistletoe seeds, Dendrophthoe pentandra!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.