Sarcotheca monophylla or Belimbing Pipit, with a female Lesser Green Leafbird feeding on the fruits.

One of the favourite fruit trees in the forest for many birds is Sarcotheca monophylla, commonly known as Belimbing Pipit. This is a species of plant in the family Oxalidaceae, said to be a tree endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. This tree grows to a height of 30m with bright red oval fruits up to 13 mm in size.
Birds seen feeding on this tree include:

Olive-winged Bulbul Pycnonotus plumosus plumosus
Cream-vented Bulbuls Pycnonotus simplex
Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus brunneus
Spectacled Bulbul Pycnonotus erythropthalmos
Ashy Bulbul Hemixos flavala cinereus
Buff-vented Bulbul Iole charlottae crypta

“The fruit at 0.6-1cm is a bit large for the Yellow-vented Flowerpeckers (Dicaeum chrysorrheum chrysorrheum) but they will hold it up to get the juice and whittle away at the flesh.”

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
6th December 2018
Location: Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Fringe of primary jungle
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