Hello Brian, Tom, Laurence and Birding-Ausers,
If White-headed Pigeons eat green Camphor Laurel seeds then they may not be
responsible for spreading the trees.
My curiosity was aroused because there are lots of birds (>10) and no ripe fruit
left. A few months ago the Camphors dropped ripe seed like rain. I brought
home a
few of the Camphor laurel berries from where the pigeons were eating
(something) on
the ground. They were completely green but the flesh was fairly soft and juicy,
and tasted like camphor; quite like the fresh, eucalyptus taste of Syzygium
australe (Brush Cherry) fruit. (I guess it affects the taste of these fellows
too,
Laurence.) Two of the 3 were empty but the 3rd had a nice plump kernel. The
skin
of the kernel cracked easily with a fingernail, no great challenge to a pigeon.
>From below with binoculars I couldn't find any fruit in the trees and I'm
>wondering
how these few green fruit appeared so early and what the pigeons are doing there
well before the main crop comes on stream. The trees are just producing flower
buds. Could the birds be eating the flower buds which look a bit like a pinkish
fruit at this early stage?
Apart from those on the ground I couldn't find a pigeon actually feeding. They
do
a lot of sitting and neck craning though.
Perhaps the White-headed Pigeons have benefited from the spread of Camphor
Laurels
without contributing anything to their spread.
Regards,
Ros Laundon.
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