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Greater Leafbird (female) A flock of Greater Leafbirds were looking for some good fruits on this Spiky Fig tree. Birds with small beaks like these leafbirds can easily get into the flesh of the fig bypassing the sharp hairs. Leafbirds are named after their green color which helps them camouflage among leaf foliage perfectly. The males have black heads while the females are fully green with yellow &quot;eyeliner&quot;. Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on canopy birds like these to disperse its seeds onto another host tree. This is recorded during our few days observation to document the ecological value of this fig species as an important species for our reforestation projects. <br /> <br /> The Spiky Fig (Ficus cucurbitina):<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104512/spiky_fig.html" title="Spiky Fig"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3336/104512_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=O7h7BSe2K45WQndyzCvWpkUEQu4%3D" width="200" height="148" alt="Spiky Fig Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world&#039;s spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent primates from eating it and only birds with hard beaks can feed and disperse it. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly.<br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104602/spiky_fig_tree.html" title="Spiky Fig tree"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3336/104602_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=d%2FufpafQdKX39DnZYHgHEEzbPmI%3D" width="200" height="164" alt="Spiky Fig tree The fig branches growing outwards from the host tree. You can still see the host tree&#039;s leaves at the very top. The host tree is an Artocarpus elasticus. The epiphyte, the Spiky Fig (Ficus Cucurbitina), is definitely the world&#039;s spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer" /></a></figure><br /> Chloropsis sonnerati,Geotagged,Greater green leafbird,Malaysia,Summer Click/tap to enlarge PromotedSpecies introCountry intro

Greater Leafbird (female)

A flock of Greater Leafbirds were looking for some good fruits on this Spiky Fig tree. Birds with small beaks like these leafbirds can easily get into the flesh of the fig bypassing the sharp hairs. Leafbirds are named after their green color which helps them camouflage among leaf foliage perfectly. The males have black heads while the females are fully green with yellow "eyeliner". Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on canopy birds like these to disperse its seeds onto another host tree. This is recorded during our few days observation to document the ecological value of this fig species as an important species for our reforestation projects.

The Spiky Fig (Ficus cucurbitina):

Spiky Fig Ficus Cucurbitina, the Spiky Fig, is definitely the world's spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent primates from eating it and only birds with hard beaks can feed and disperse it. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly.<br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

Spiky Fig tree The fig branches growing outwards from the host tree. You can still see the host tree's leaves at the very top. The host tree is an Artocarpus elasticus. The epiphyte, the Spiky Fig (Ficus Cucurbitina), is definitely the world's spikiest fig. Many fig fruits are hairy but none has evolved to have really rigid and sharp hairs like this fig. These sharp hairs are strong and sharp enough to pierce a human skin. Probably evolved this way to prevent most mammals from eating it but ideal for canopy birds as they can feed unharmed with their beaks. Fruits ripen light yellow - orange - dark red - maroonish black. These fruits high up in the canopy where the fig tree grows on another host tree. These fruits were growing about 20m high. We were lucky to find it at its fruiting apex, and after several days, the fruit numbers have reduced greatly. <br /> <br /> Watching this fig tree is one of the best experience for my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife). We are trying to find out which is the most beneficial fig species for wildlife and this fig is definitely one of the best. Lots of animals visited it in both day and night. There are always animals every time we visited the tree.<br /> Ficus Cucurbitina,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer

    comments (2)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Awesome that you even spotted it! Posted 4 years ago
    1. View _ChunXingWong_'s profile
      _ChunXingWong_
      Lion
      View Lion class
      If they stayed still then I would definitely have not spotted it! Luckily these leafbirds are really active. Posted 4 years ago

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The Greater green leafbird

The greater green leafbird is a species of bird in the family Chloropseidae. It is distinguished from the lesser green leafbird by its powerful beak, yellow throat and eye ring of the female; and lack of a yellow border along the black throat patch found in the male "C. cyanopogan".

Info 4 0
Similar species: Perching Birds
Species identified by _ChunXingWong_
View _ChunXingWong_'s profile

By _ChunXingWong_

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
Uploaded Nov 25, 2020. Captured Jul 6, 2020 06:52 in Beluran, Sabah, Malaysia.
country flag of Malaysia Explore Malaysia 6,517 3,884 0
  • Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
  • f/6.5
  • 1/49s
  • ISO250
  • 247mm
Captured in the summer. More summer photos.

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