{"id":1215,"date":"2007-06-08T00:06:31","date_gmt":"2007-06-07T16:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/besgroup.talfrynature.com\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2023-06-24T17:46:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T09:46:27","slug":"common-yellow-stem-fig-and-white-leaved-fig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/2007\/06\/08\/common-yellow-stem-fig-and-white-leaved-fig\/","title":{"rendered":"Common yellow stem-fig and white-leaved fig"},"content":{"rendered":"
I stumbled upon a 2003 paper by Kelvin S-H Peh<\/strong> and Chong Fong Lin<\/strong>, that appeared in the Ornithological Society of Japan\u2019s journal, Ornithological Science 2:119-125. I was fascinated by their observations of two fig species and the birds they attract at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. <\/p>\n Birders are always excited whenever large fig trees are in fruits. This would be followed by list after list of birds that visit the trees. Yes, these two authors also generate a list of birds that visit the two fig plants. But the study was more than a list of birds.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The two plants observed were common yellow stem-fig (Ficus fistulosa<\/em>) (above left) and white-leaved fig (Ficus grossularioides<\/em>) (above right). The former is a small tree, sometimes planted along roads. It bears large, 25 mm diameter figs in bunches along the trunk and main branches. According to Angie Ng<\/strong>, the figs are enjoyed by bats and squirrels. I have always wondered whether any birds at all go for these figs. The latter is a shrub of forest edge and secondary growth, with smaller, 12.5 mm diameter figs. <\/p>\n A total of 15 species of birds were observed visiting the two species of figs. These birds either swallow the figs whole or bite off pieces. Apparently some birds mash up the figs before swallowing but none of the birds observed did that.<\/p>\n