Common Flameback (and others) feeding on Oil Palm fruits

Edmund Teo Wei Pin photographed a female Common Flareback (Dinopium javanense) feeding Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruits.

“I thought Common Flamebacks are insectivorous,” he wrote.

This is what most people think but according to Winkler & Christie (2002), woodpeckers feed mainly on insects and their larvae, but they also feed on fruits, tree sap and nestlings. However, there is no mention of the Common Flameback taking Oil Palm fruits in Wells (1999) and Winkler & Christie (2002).

Other than the Common Flareback, Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) and Red-breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) (below) were also feeding on the fruits.

Edmund later photographed Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis) (below)…

…and Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus) (below) feeding on the fruits.

Edmund Teo Wei Pin
Singapore
February 2016

References:
1. Wells, D.R., 1999. The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London. 648 pp.
2. Winkler, H. & D. A. Christie, 2002. Family Picidae (Woodpeckers). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & J. Sargatal (eds.), Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 296-555.

This post is a cooperative effort between Birds, Insects N Creatures Of Asia and BESG to bring the study of birds and their behavior through photography and videography to a wider audience.