Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker taking Viscum ovalifolium fruits

YC Wee
on 10th December 2011

Francis Lim was at the Singapore’s Wallace Centre Dairy Farm NParks area recently and took this picture of a Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum cruentatum) feeding on the fruits of Viscum ovalifolium. Although mistletoe fruits are commonly taken by flowerpeckers, this is out first documentation of a Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker taking the fruits of this species of mistletoe.

Viscum ovalifolium is an uncommon mistletoe in Singapore LINK. It belongs to the plant family of Santalaceae, unlike the other species that belong to the family Loranthaceae. The fruits here are warty. There is another species, Viscum articulatum, the leafless mistletoe, made up of mainly compressed leafless stems, usually growing on other mistletoe plants. This is also an uncommon species.

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.

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Any views and opinions expressed in the articles 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.

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