The Giant Mahang (Macaranga gigantea), when fruiting, is a great location to observe the feeding behaviour of a large number of bird species. On this occasion there were a number of Grey-breasted Spiderhunters (Arachnothera modesta), some with juveniles present, as well as many Sunbirds and Flycatchers.
Although the juveniles were self-feeding at times, their primary food was still from parents. It was interesting to observe that the parent would collect a number of Macaranga gigantean fruit in its beak (above) and with fruits still in its oral cavity, collecting more (below).
The fruit was then ‘regurgitate’ to feed juveniles. I missed most of the feeding images as the parent would call the juveniles over, often in partly hidden locations (behind leaves), to feed them. I am not aware if fruit feeding to juveniles has been recorded previously. The image below shows two of the juveniles present.
Amar-Singh HSS (Dato’ Dr)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
20th September 2021
Location: Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Primary forest
Equipment: Equipment: Nikon D500 SLR with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, handheld with Rode VideoMic Pro Plus Shotgun Microphone
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