Black Dillenia

Date: 05/01/2010
Time start: 9:00am
Time end: 12:00pm
Weather: Sunny
Location: Beside the boardwalk of Chemperai Trail. (Spot X – 1)
Observations: Long-tailed Macaques

11:05am:
* A group of at least 7 monkeys made their appearance!
11:25am:
* A couple of birds (Call: chrru-chrru-chrru ) dived into the Melastoma patch, but couldn’t make out the species as they were hidden by the thick green foliage. 

11:30 – 12:00pm:
* Frugivore: Long-tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis)
* Total observed: (at least) 7 macaques
* Comment: They could be seen plucking the flowers, the unopened flower buds and the unopened fruits of the Melastoma. But I can’t be too sure about whether they fed on the unopened fruits, videos that I captured showed the macaques moving real quick, even at slow motion mode. >_< 

(left): Unopened flower buds
(right): Opened flowers

(left): Unopened cluster of fruits
(right): Ripened and burst-open fruit

* There were altogether 4 videos which I shot, with the 2nd the best of all:
(a) Monkey Feeding on Melastoma Patch II:

(b) A fairly close video record of the Long-tailed. But its motions were still damn quick to discern at leisurely view. Sighs.

Basically, when the macaques, silence filled the air and the only sounds that reached my ears were the sounds of trees crashing into each other as the macaques leaped and played within the foliage.

? Puzzle of the day:
1) Have I been sitting too close to the boardwalk at yesterday’s site? But I have witnessed for myself birds foraging within the patch even when I was standing on the boardwalk – and the distance was even closer compared to where I was sitting. Or could it have been due to the fact that there were more people jogging around at the moment?

2) Can the Long-tailed Macaques be potential seed dispersers of the Melastoma sp.?
A: If the seeds of the Melastoma malabathricum were indeed eaten, they might stand a chance and germinate into plants. Seeds less than 4mm (and this includes the sendudok) are more likely to be swallowed (and not spat or destroyed) by the macaques.

“Seed swallowers may be better dispersal agents than spitters for larger seeds, because the seeds are likely to be dropped further from the parent tree."

But this effort could go down the drain if the seeds swallowed are excreted in big clumps. And this was what happened to the small seeds swallowed by the Long-tailed. [1] Hence, the “might” above.
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* Additional notes:
Bird calls heard from 9 – 11:15am, right till the macaques came and started feasting on the Melastoma patch I was observing.

1) chi-wut

2) wee-wi
- the final note short; calls were approx. 4 seconds apart

3) tzi
- very much like how one pronounces the word 刺 with a “-t” ending

4) tzi・wit tzi・wit tzi・wit tzi・wit
- 2 syllables; about 3-4x in succession; very fast

5) chee・ip chee・ip
- 2 syllables but very rapid, short call.

6) choonk choonk …
- a long series of calls; then a distant, similar call is heard – almost as in reply.

7) tzwee tzwee tzwee
- 3-5 series of calls in a row; the call ends with a long “-uee”

8) wheet
- calls were approx. 2-3s apart; ended in a rapid, short note

9) tzik tzik
- 2-3seconds in between notes

10) chi・ink chi・ink chi・ink
- almost 2-syllable, very subtle; calls were clear and crystal-like

11) chut・uh chut・uh chut・uh
- 2-syllable call; about 4x in succession

12) chree-chi chree-chi
- about 1 second apart

13) tzwee tzwee tzwink
- almost like number 7 but the final note had a “-nk” sound to it.  

Reference:
1. Corlett, R.T & Lucas, P.W. (1990) Alternative Seed-Handling Strategies in Primates: Seed-Spitting by Long-Tailed Macaques(Macaca fascicularis).