You might be wondering what I meant by using the word, ‘frugivores’, well, not amazingly, all birds that live on fruits are called frugivores and they are certainly amazing. Frugivores are amazing because most of them are never seen on the ground. Birds like the Yellow-footed Green Pigeon is probably rarely spotted because the colour of its plumage makes it very difficult to spot in the branches of a tree. Added to this is the fact that Yellow-footed Green Pigeons are very shy birds that will turn away from you. Yellow-footed Green Pigeons also have very beautiful eyes!
Barbets, (both Coppersmith Barbets and Lineated or Brown Headed Barbets) are fruit-eating birds and they too live on the branches of trees. I have never seen them on the ground. Unlike Yellow-Footed Green Pigeons, Barbets however might be more visible because of the Copper-red colour on their head or the distinct yellow eye patch and red beak. I enjoy photographing Barbets a lot. One funny thing is that I often hear people calling them Parrots, which they are not!
What is common about these birds is their craze for figs. Yellow-footed Green Pigeons and Barbets are crazy about figs. One can often spot them gorging on figs till it seems they will burst from eating too much. I have seen Yellow-footed Green Pigeons swallowing a whole fig down a beak that seems too small to accommodate the fruit. And then they go off to sleep after such a sumptuous meal. It is either the fruits that make them feel drowsy or perhaps intoxicated. It is interesting to see how important Fig trees are because they support an entire ecosystem. Moreover, birds help spread the seeds of the Fig Fruit that they have eaten over a wide area in the form of bird droppings.
Oriental White Eyes too seem to be attracted to Figs although they are known to be insectivores. It has been noticed that these birds are very adaptable in terms of their diet. Oriental White Eyed birds enjoy eating mulberry fruits, though I guess they might find it really difficult to tackle a full-sized fig!
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