An earlier post reported the Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) swallowing the fruits of the Alexandra Palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae), to subsequently regurgitate the seeds.
Now, Kevin Lam of Nature Spies has managed to document the stages of the bird swallowing the palm fruit (left).
“By a stroke of luck I managed to capture this series of a female Asian Koel swallowing a large Alexandra Palm fruit! Actually, I could have been luckier and gotten group shots. I was drawn to the loud calls of the birds (yes pural) as there were two males vying for her attention. Strangely it was her that was doing all the calling. It was quite a cacophony of resounding bird calls. At first I had assumed it’s the males vying for attention from a potential mate. However, it seems like the female was more interested in food.
“The whole thing was so fascinating for me. Ha but apparently there are others who are quite angry with the calls of the koel in their estate and wish them gone. I would think Koels are the least of our noise pollution. Buses have deafening beeps promptly declare to the entire bus that you have paid your fare. I really can’t fathom why.”
After the bird swallows the fruit, it would regurgitate the seed after a short while. Well, Kevin’s next challenge is to photograph a koel regurgitating a palm seed.
Kevin Lam
Singapore
December 2007
One Response