“I always thought that the Pong Pong (Cerbera odollam) fruit was inedible and indeed even toxic, until I saw this yesterday. [Actually it is the seed that is poisonous.]
“Tanimbar Corella (Cacatua goffini) purposefully making its way up the tree after plucking the fruit (above).
“After finding a comfortable perch, it busied itself on the fibrous fruit for the next few minutes (above).
“Too bad I had to leave before I could observe it finishing up the fruit. All quite a revelation for me.”
An earlier post can be seen HERE.
Lena Chow
Singapore
5th August 2013
Bird Ecology Study Group Tanimbar Corella and the Beach Barringtonia fruit
[…] Corella is also known to eat seeds of Pong Pong (Cerbera odollam), also reputed to be poisonous. It also gnaws into woody and semi-woody fruits for […]