This giant Ficus stricta strangler started fruiting at Tawau Hills Park on 20 October 2021.
Ripening figs attracted four species of hornbills, bulbuls and a flock of Hill Mynas.
Fig wasps normally exit the ripening figs a few days before they are ripe and hundreds of thousands of emerging figs wasps attracted flocks of swifts and swiftlets to feed on the tiny wasps.
Attracted by all this avian activity the locally resident pair of Crested Goshawks arrived to find out what was going on.
Photos and information provided by Shavez Cheema and Chun Xing WONG of 1Stop Borneo Wildlife.
ABOVE: Note that the food pouch (crop) of this male Wreathed Hornbill is empty as it flies into feed, whereas in the photo below the food crop is swollen with ripe figs. These photos indicate that the male hornbill is storing figs inside his crop to feed to his female partner sealed inside her tree hole nest. Single male hornbills that fill their crops repeatedly and fly off are a common sight at Tawau Hills and indicate active nesting nearby.
