“Was wandering around in the evening during my visit to [Sibu, Sarawak, East Malaysia] and spotted an adult Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) (above left) feeding a juvenile (above right) (and itself) with orchid flowers. I !m not aware of the name of this plant but it has hanging flowers that look like orchids [The plant is actually Water Canna, Thalia geniculata: see comments.]
“My wife made a pertinent comment, from her many years of observation, when I showed her the image, ‘We do not need a list of what the Yellow Vented Bulbul eats, but what it does not eat!’. I fully agree with her, the Yellow Vented Bulbuls eats almost anything edible.
“Davison 1999 (The Birds of Borneo by B. E. Smythies, 4th edition) gives the subspecies as P. g. gourdini but looks just like the peninsular P. g. analis.
%pD
“The Internet Bird Collection lists 6 subspecies: LINK, three relevant to my birdwatching area:
P. g. jambu (Deignan, 1955) – S Myanmar (Tenasserim S from 12·5° N), C & S Thailand, C Laos, S Cambodia and S Vietnam.
P. g. analis (Horsfield%rC 1821) – Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra (including Riau and Lingga Archipelagos, Bangka, Belitung), Java (including Kangean Is), Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa.
P. g. gourdini (G. R. Gray, 1847) – Borneo (including Maratua I, off E coast) and Karimunjawa I (N of Java).
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
8th June 2012
3 responses
Doesn’t look like an orchid. Looks like the Spanish flag, Thalia geniculata, or maybe some other Thalia species…
Yes, you are right. See https://besgroup.org/2010/01/01/crimson-sunbird-and-water-canna/