The Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) is a popular wayside tree. Its conspicuous bunches of yellow blossoms bring much needed colour to the leafy green Garden City. Flowering is usually gregarious, with all the trees lining a road in bloom. However this has not been the case recently, at least not along the road fronting my house.
During most of 2015, limited flowering was seen in isolated trees. It would appear that the trees took turn to flower. The flowers still attracted bees. However, with limited flowering many other birds that usually visited for the nectar were absent. It is also possible that their presence was not as conspicuous as before.
However, the Red-whiskered Bulbuls (Pycnonotus jocosus) that moved into the neighbourhood some months ago were very conspicuous among these trees. The video above documented them taking nectar from flowers on the evening of 4th December 2015. An earlier post caught the bulbul feeding on the flower nectar in photographs.
YC Wee
Singapore
December 2015
Edna Alvarez
Thanks for the video. Love hearing the bird twitters in the background, as I am in a birdless cold and rainy place at the moment.
BESG
A little Christmas cheer perhaps?