birding-aus Silvereyes and food

["G Glass" <>]

They don't just eat grapes and apricots and such! Today while I was trying
to gather some seed from a few trees, here was a Silvereye feeding in an
Elatostachys xylocarpa (white tamarind, grows NSW & Qld). This tree has
tough, woody capsules which open into three parts with a black seed 4-5 mm
long lodged between each segment in a little hollow. (The woody segments
are a pretty pink when they open.) I thought the silvereye was going for
the insects that are sometimes present with a seed, until I watched it poke
its bill into what must have been a partly-open capsule, grab a seed and
swallow it.
Gloria Glass, nr Toowoomba Qld
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