An account has been earlier posted on Asian Glossy Starlings (Aplonis panayensis), Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) and Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot (Loriculus galgulus) eating the fruits of the ceram palm (Rhopaloblaste ceramica).
Now, the Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) has been added to the list of birds feeding on these fruits. KC Tsang agreed that the crow is Large-billed. Nature consultant R Subaraj added, “The first photo (above left) certainly seems to indicate a Large-billed Crow…with that heavy bill and jet black plumage. The orange gape lines (above right, arrowed) would certainly indicate an immature bird, as would the seemingly lack of a bump on the head. …what would a crow be doing foraging on palm fruits? That is more koel-like behaviour.”
The Large-billed Crow is an omnivorous scavenger. Besides animal food, it also takes plant food as well – fruits, nectar and petals.
YC Wee, R Subaraj & KC Tsang
Singapore
February 2011
Richard Corlett
I have also seen a large-billed crow carry off an oil-palm fruit to a nearby tree for processing, which explains why the oil palm is slowly naturalizing in Singapore.
Bird Ecology Study Group Asian Glossy Starling eating Ceram Palm fruits
[…] LINK, Pied Imperial-pigeons (Ducula bicolour) LINK and Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) LINK that have a wide gape swallow the fruits whole, to eventually regurgitate the […]