Wong Kais heard a very noisy bird on a sweet sop (Annona squamosa) tree. As he followed the noise, he saw two Sunda pygmy woodpeckers in between the foliage. One bird kept pecking at a fruit and feeding the chick. The chick kept up the noise, fluttering its wings and flitting about. The mother bird flew off after the chick attempted to feed itself by pecking at the fruit, imitating its mother.
Video 1 shows the mother pecking at a sweet sop fruit and then feeding the chick.
Video 2 shows the noisy chick begging the mother to feed it. Later, the chick attempted to feed itself. The mother then flew off, leaving the chick behind. Perhaps mother realised that the chick is able to forage for itself.
Video 3 shows the area of the sweet sop fruit where mealy bugs had been picked off by the mother woodpecker. The fruit was intact and not punctured or eaten.
After the birds flew off, Wong Kais examined the fruits and found no punctures or eaten parts. One part of a fruit showed an area where the mealy bugs had been picked at.
Read this post about a Sunda pygmy woodpecker feeding on mealy bugs and another one feeding on nectar .
Serangoon Gardens, Singapore. 27 June 2016
Article by Teo Lee Wei
