Jambu Fruit-dove and Ficus benjamina

“Christmas came early for me this year; I had one of those dream bird watching days with a large numbers of different species in a short time, many less commonly seen species. This was partly due to the bad weather we’ve been having with lots of rain and cooler days. Fruit (food) has been in short supply and hence birds have been collecting at available fruiting trees. Even these trees have limited supply as much food has fallen to the ground or not ripened due to overcast skies.

“One of the joys of today bird watching was seeing a juvenile Jambu Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus jambu). It was enjoying the fruit of a Ficus benjamina together with many other species. Fruit was swallowed whole and not crushed. Although I say juvenile, the plumage is turning into an adult, so perhaps immature is better.

“Notice the pink/red in the face. Note also that Wells (1999) says that “The tip of the outer primary is deeply emarginated in adults, but not in juveniles” (emarginate means to have a notch, attenuated margins). This bird’s outer primaries were showing signs of these.

“I am uncertain if this is a male or female as insufficient details for me to decide (my opinion is female).

“Despite the size this bird is very well camouflaged. It will sit silently in the tree almost unnoticed. At times, when it moved to a different part of the ficus, I had difficulty relocating it. No calls were made and it was, as usual, a solitary bird.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
23rd December 2016

Location: Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Trail along primary jungle