Road trip of sorts

On the long way back to Singapore, we stopped over at a quaint fruit stall by the side of the road.

Roadside Fruit Stall

Grant taking his pick of jambu fruits.These delightfully juicy fruits are sought after by many animals, including fruit bats, monkeys, and the Jambu Fruit Dove. The high water content of these fruits make for a refreshing thirst quenching snack, particularly on one of Southeast Asia's brutally hot days.

Brilliantly pink and juicy: Jambu Air

Another fruit commonly cultivated in Malaysia is bananas! There are 2 main types of bananas, with a grand total of around 300 species! (Who knew?!) The ones you see below are the "fruit" type, meaning that they are usually eaten raw when they've turned banana yellow :) The other type is known as the plantain banana.This variety is usually cooked before consumption, and is even known to some as the vegetable banana. To find out more about how bananas have featured in history, from banana toys to banana skirts... take a look at this quirky website. Don't suppose banana skirts will be in fashion anytime too soon though. Such a pity.

Banana-mania

It was rather unfortunate that this shop also had a Baya weaver bird's nest displayed. The nest of this bird is often collected and sold, simply because it is beautiful. However, after the nestlings have fledged, this painstakingly constructed nest is not simply abandoned to the forces of nature. It is also known to be used by other small birds. Other birds also take material from these nests to build their own nests. Removing these nests from the environments means that these birds are either deprived of a home entirely, or they have to spend more time and energy searching for suitable nesting material; time and energy they could have devoted to something else, like feeding.

Baya weaver bird's nest (Ploceus philippinus)

The mating game:

• Male builds part of the nest, and waits...
• Show time! Female inspects the nest with a discerning eye. Not like she wants a defective male passing on his defective genes to her babies!
• If she's satisfied, she gives him the ultimate prize- access to her eggs 
• More often than not, she's left on her own to finish up the nest
• She lays her eggs and the heavy responsibility of parenting is solely hers
• The male then sits by another nest he has painstakingly constructed, to woo any other female that comes along

It's simply amazing, the amount of work that goes into the construction of that one nest. And it could all end up being futile if females don't like the nest! They may not get PMS, but life sure ain't easy for males either eh?

References

Tan, R. (n.d.). Mangrove and Wetland Wildlife at Sungei Buloh Nature Park: Birds: Baya Weaver. Retrieved May 10, 2010, from Print to Web; Convert to Conserve: http://www.naturia.per.sg