The Olive-backed Sunbirds' feast

There was a great feast for those olive-backed sunbirds today.

A hole which is clearly seen on every flower is a clear indication that the sunbird/s had already extracted the nectar. I believe they did it by "drilling" (piercing) a hole into the bud with their long sharp, needle-like beak.


After a heavy downpour yesterday, we were surprised that the "Ginger" plants were blooming vigorously. And as usual, we didn't manage to take any snapshots of the birds becox they would fly off the minute they sense any movements near the plants.

Even though the photographs of our "ginger" plants were repetitive in style, we hope that viewers would enjoy them as much as we do.

 

Sneaky visits by olive-backed sunbirds

The latest news about our regular visitor, the olive-backed sunbird, is that it has gone mute as it came without chirping at all.

Initially, when I spotted these holes on all my flower buds, I thought that the plants were infested with worms. And there was further confusion as my plant was also concurrently undergoing the after-effects of over-fertilising.

However, before I barge into the nursery to consult the Aunty who coached me in gardening, I caught the olive-backed sunbird red-handed.

Well, it didn't commit the "crimes" with any hands since they weren't part of its anatomy.

We discovered that instead of sticking its long, pin-like beak into the opening at the top of flower buds, it was a really lazy bird. Our friend use its pin-like beak to prick the flower buds & finally drilled a huge hole into the buds mid-way to suck out the flower nectar.



As such, there were many pin--like holes & 1 huge gaping hole on all the flowers buds.

If you asked me if it looked awful, yes it does affect the appearance of the poor plants.

After we made such a discovery by the naughty bird, we no longer based its presence on its chirping since it's been quiet nowadays.

Instead, the freshly bloomed buds which were marked with such holes were a very clear indication that the silly bird has already visited & drank its fill of flower nectar.

Did you see the flower (which had already been "attacked" by the bird) being flanked by 2 other flower buds which are going to bloom at any point in time?

I thought that this was really cute as the flower bud had been pushed out right at the top of the red "corn".

It's quite a pity that the red "corn" was burnt off earlier in view of overfertilising & also, over watering. Before the flower buds were being pushed out of the red "scales", it had already started rotting. After the unbloomed buds rot & die off, they would simply turn brown & dry up like how it's featured in the above photograph.

The Story Of My "tree" Musketeers - Birdies : Companionship to Ginger plants & their flower buds ...

And not forgetting the birds, there is this particular species of bird that is small-bodied but greets these plants every single day without fail with a "he-he-he-he" sharp chirping voice.

They are known as Olive-backed Sunbirds (scientific name: Nectarinia jugularis) / 黄腹花蜜鸟.

copyright Paul Huang, http://www.naturestops.com)

For more information & details about the bird, kindly visit the following website:
http://swapsungeibuloh.wikispaces.com/Olive-backed+Sunbird

This video clip features a female Olive-backed sunbird returning to her nest after a hard day of flying around. However, it's a pity that the bird in the clip doesn't call out at all. Isn't the birdie cute when she peeps out from her nest?

It is cloaked in greenish & yellowy feathers; characterised by a long, sharp & needled-like beak which is abit bent downwards. Presumably for extracting nectar from the flowers blooming on this breed of Ginger plant.

When we had been greeted by a succession of loud, and cheery chirping, we knew for sure that the plants were blooming wtih an abundance of flower food for the birds. If those chirpy darlings greeted us with a short flat tone, we would be immediately aware that they were disappointed that they've got to look elsewhere for food as there are no flowers at all.

I've tried to take photographs of the birds who made several trips down to our Ginger plants everyday. Unfortunately, it's scared of humans which is understandable becox they've grown up in the wild so when it detects any movement, it'll take flight immediately & perhaps come back sneakily for food, hoping that the "orge" standing infront of the Ginger plants had disappeared.

2 flower buds were featured in an enlarged photograph of the GINGER "bulb" (not sure what to call it but it resembled a deep, dark red corn) as above. Looks yummy to the eyes & to the birdie.

Photograph of a new adult spotting a very fat stem and a huge, thick red "corn" with a day-old flower bud whose nectar had already been sucked dry by an Olive-backed sunbird.

___________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer:
Please note that I do not own any of the photographs & videos of the Olive-backed Sunbirds featured here on this thread. As such, please give the credits of the photographs & videos of the birds to the relevant contributors.

I wish to thank Mr Paul Huang of http://www.naturestops.com for granting his kind permission in allowing me to use his beautiful photographs in this forum. It had certainly made an eye-opening difference to a nature lover like myself!

I would also like to thank the creator/s of http://swapsungeibuloh.wikispaces.com & smalleyes68 (owner of the You-tube video)for their comprehensive write-ups of the birds of Singapore & the video clip featuring an olive-backed sunbird respectively on the internet.