I have been trying for weeks to document the bird/s that pick the small red fruits of my Synsepalum dulcificum, commonly known as Miracle Fruit or Flavour Berry without success,
I left my video-cam for hours on end in front of my plant bearing the ripe red fruits to no avail. The moment I removed the video-cam, the red fruits disappeared.
Left with a single ripe red fruit on my plant, my luck suddenly turned. The video-cam did capture the bird, a Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier). It quietly and suddenly flew at the plant, picked up the red fruit and flew off.
The Miracle Fruit is known as such because when eaten, the fruit causes sour fruits like lime and lemon to taste sweet for up to an hour. The fruit contains miraculin that binds the taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet LINK. A natural sugar substitute has been extracted from these fruits.
YC Wee
Singapore
28th March 2017
