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Bushy-crested Hornbill with a fruit A flock of Bushy-crested Hornbills were looking for some ripe fruits on this Spiky Fig tree. There are 8 species of hornbills in Borneo and this species is the only one that live in a flock. Hornbills are large enough to swallow the spiky fig whole but before they do that, they have to carefully mash the fruit until it is inside out so the spikes are buried into the flesh and it would be smoother to swallow. Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on canopy birds like these to disperse its seeds onto another host tree. Wild figs are a very important food source to hornbills. 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/104607/very_ripe_spiky_fig.html" title="very ripe Spiky Fig"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3336/104607_thumb.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=5qopVxsHhn44zcYVELPxZxKFY2E%3D" width="200" height="160" alt="very ripe 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 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 /> <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> Anorrhinus galeritus,Bushy-crested hornbill,Geotagged,Malaysia,Summer Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Bushy-crested Hornbill with a fruit

A flock of Bushy-crested Hornbills were looking for some ripe fruits on this Spiky Fig tree. There are 8 species of hornbills in Borneo and this species is the only one that live in a flock. Hornbills are large enough to swallow the spiky fig whole but before they do that, they have to carefully mash the fruit until it is inside out so the spikes are buried into the flesh and it would be smoother to swallow. Epiphytic fig like this spiky fig depends on canopy birds like these to disperse its seeds onto another host tree. Wild figs are a very important food source to hornbills. 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):

very ripe 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 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

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 (3)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Lucky birds to have figs on the menu :). Posted 4 years ago
    1. View _ChunXingWong_'s profile
      _ChunXingWong_
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Sure indeed. These seems tasty. Posted 4 years ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Minus the hairs ;P Posted 4 years ago

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The Bushy-crested hornbill

The bushy-crested hornbill is a bird in the hornbill family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

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Similar species: Hornbills
Species identified by _ChunXingWong_
View _ChunXingWong_'s profile

By _ChunXingWong_

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
Uploaded Nov 25, 2020. Captured Jul 5, 2020 17:18 in Jalan Ladang Sapa Payau, 89100 Beluran, Sabah, Malaysia.
country flag of Malaysia Explore Malaysia 6,517 3,884 0
  • Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
  • f/6.3
  • 1/83s
  • ISO500
  • 201.31mm
Captured in the summer. More summer photos.

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