“I spotted two species of woodpeckers feeding on the fruit of the Giant Mahang (Macaranga gigantea). One was the Crimson-winged Woodpecker (Picus puniceus observandus). I saw an adult female feeding on many fruits high in the canopy (above).
“The second species of woodpecker feeding on the fruit of the Giant Mahang is the Banded Woodpecker (Picus miniaceus malaccense) (above). A pair of adults was feeding on fruits high in the canopy.
“There are no reports I can obtain of frugivory by the Crimson-winged and Banded Woodpeckers. Some woodpeckers are reported to take fruit. But in all my observations of these two species this is the first time I have seen such behaviour. (NB: Was not able to capture an image of the Banded Woodpecker fruit in the beak but the feeding was observed; male shown here).
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
8th August 2015
Location: Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve
Habitat: Fringe of the forest reserve
Edna Alvarez
Very interesting. Thank you for the report.