Blue-and-white Flycatcher and Macarange bancana fruits

“Had an opportunity to return to the fruiting Macaranga bancana (Common Mahang) and spent 2 plus hours there planted in one spot with my tripod.

“Saw many more species coming to feed on this fruit. Saw an adult male Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana) feeding throughout the 2 hours (intermittently returning) – cannot be sure it is the same bird all the way through. Saw many episodes of feeding but did not capture them on camera as it has this habit of fluttering to reach the fruit and seldom returns to the same perch (see Wells, 2007. The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 2 Passarines), plus shy and some episodes hidden by foliage.

“Wells (2007) on food/foraging: ‘…sallying for insects … several records of birds feeding in fruit-laden trees …. but with no confirmation of the actual taking of fruit, versus insects…’

“GWH Davison (The Birds of Borneo by B. E. Smythies, 4th edition, 1999) says: ‘To a remarkable extent – for a flycatcher – feeds on berries …’ He goes on to say that birds are noted to either take 100% fruit or 100% insects at any one time.

“There was no doubt that the primary food during the two hours of my observation was fruit. It competed with other birds and the Rufous-chested Flycatchers (Ficedula dumetoria) Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki) for fruit.

‘[The sub-species is] possibly C. c. cumatilis“.

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve
(Trail through dense primary forest near a rushing stream)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
1st December 2011