Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) is a colourful large bird common in freshwater wetlands of Singapore and Malaysia.

The bird is predominantly vegetarian, eating a wide range of water plants: water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (below top row: left & middle), water spangle (Salvinia molesta) (below top row: right), water lily (Nymphaea) (below bottom row: left), lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) (below bottom row: middle), and cyperus sedge (Cyperus) (below bottom row: right), among others.

It is an opportunistic feeder and will also take fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds, molluscs, leeches, small crabs, insects and their larvae and spiders when available.

In the image by Adrian Lim, the swamphen is seen taking a freshwater snail. Unfortunately, it is not known whether it simply swallowed it or break up the shell first before swallowing.

Image of swamphen by Adrian Lim and plants by YC.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

An earlier post gave an account of a Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) collecting nectar from the flowers of the banana plant (Musa) by Dr. Redzlan Abdul Rahman

Now, he has photographed a Little Spiderhunter (A. longirostra) collecting nectar, also from banana flowers (above). NOTE: According to R Subaraj (see comment), the bird in the three images above is a Grey-breasted Spiderhunter (Arachnothera affinis).

The images on the left shows a Little Spiderhunter’s tongue extending beyond the tip of the bill. As with sunbirds, the tongue of a spiderhunter is also a closed tube along the major part of its length.

Spiderhunters feeding on nectar from various flowering plants is well known and extensively recorded. But feeding on spiders is not often documented. After all, these birds are called spiderhunters specifically because they are supposed to feed on spiders.

Much is not known of their animal foods and these need to be observed and documented.

Jimmy Tan a.k.a. skylark was at the Panti Forest Reserve in Johor, Malaysia recently and caught sight of an adult male Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker (Prionochilus thoracicus) eating a fig. He posted his images in NaturePixels and is sharing the above with us all.

Joseph Lai and Angie Ng identified the fig as brown-scurfy fig (Ficus consociata).

Figs are a favourite food with birds. The best known fig tree in Singapore is the waringin (Ficus benjamina) at the summit of Singapore’s Bukit Timah. And during every fruiting period for the past so many years, there would be myriads of birds attracted to it. This in turn attracted and will continue to attract, birdwatchers without fail: see HERE.

The only regret is that most of our birdwatchers are “listers” meaning they simply make a list of birds visiting the fig tree. And they do this year in and year out. These lists are conspicuous in their total absence of any critical assessment of the events. Details like how the different species of birds take the figs – whether they swallow them whole, take bites off the figs or squash them before eating - are simply ignored. Similarly, how the different species interact and behave around the figging tree do not interest birdwatchers: see HERE

Despite a challenge to birders to be more critical in their observations, made in October 2006, we have yet to see any bird behaviour reports on figging trees: see HERE.

Isn’t it time local birdwatchers do more than mere listing? Bird photographers are currently at the forefront of such observations. The above image by Jimmy should spur birdwatchers to break out of the 20-year stranglehold!

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

Spidethunters, as the name implies, is supposed to feed on spiders. However, there has been “no record of web-robbing” (Wells, 2007) as its animal diet is not known.

Dr. Redzlan Abdul Rahman managed to photograph a Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) hovering in front of a bunch of banana flowers collecting nectar from the flowers.

As Dr Redzian writes, “This picture describes very well why Malays call it ‘Kelicap Jantung’ meaning bird that feeds on ‘jantung pisang’ (banana heart).”

It is well known that this spiderhunter feeds on nectar from flowers of banana (Musa), coconut (Cocos nucifera), African tulip (Spathodea campanulata), durian (Durio zibethinus) and Jacaranda filicifolia. What is not known is its animal food.

Reference:
Wells, D.R. (2007). The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. II, Passerines. Christopher Helm, London.

Flowerpeckers are tiny birds that dart around the forest trees with lightning speed. Because of the rapid movement and being solitary birds, they are difficult to see. However, they always make their characteristic metallic clicking sound and with a little patience, the location of these birds can always be pinpointed.

The Orange-bellied (Dicaeum trigonostigma) (male and female, above left) and Scarlet-backed (D. cruentatum) (male, above right) are found locally and easily seen but one needs to travel to Peninsular Malaysia to view the Crimson-breasted (Prionochilus percussus) (male, below). All three species of flowerpeckers shown here are feasting on melastoma fruits.

The birds take flower nectar, fruits and occasionally small insects. Figs are a favourite, as well as the berries of the sun-loving shrub, melastoma (Melastoma malabathricum). It is easier to view these birds around melastome as fruiting is throughout the year. On a sunny spell, the metallic clicking of these birds can be heard, heralding their presence.

Melastoma, sometimes misleadingly called Singapore rhododendron, is a weedy shrub that proliferates in disturbed areas. In areas that are fired regularly, these plants soon form semi-pure stands as they survive the fire while others do not. If left alone, they grow into small trees.

The plant flowers throughout the year. The pinkish mauve flowers last only a day, opening early morning and closing late afternoon. They attract bees, especially the large carpenter bees that assist in pollination.

The fruits split open at maturity to expose the soft, dark blue pulp dotted with tiny, orange seeds. They are sweetish and children love them, staining their teeth purple in the process of eating them. Squirrels, monkeys and birds love them, and in the process help to disperse the seeds.

Images from the book “A Passion for Birds” courtesy of Ong Kiem Sian.