Interesting to see photographs depicting symbiotic relationships between plant and birds! Sunbirds and flowers are ideally suited to each other as the former with their longer bills can gain access to the nectar that other avian species cannot and in that process get coated with pollen. This kind of symbiosis is called *mutualism* where both parties benefit from each other's actions.
On the other hand Mistletoe's and ephyphites are the gainers whilst their hosts - trees - are the losers. This relationship is *parasitic*. The symbiosis between the mistletoe and its host tree could also be *commensal* as I checked up on wikipedia which states, "Commensalism describes a relationship between two living organisms where one benefits and the other is not significantly harmed or helped...". The classic example in the Indian context is the symbiotic relationship between the Chital (Spotted Deer) and Langur monkey in the forest where the langur feeds sloppily, dropping fruits/seeds on the forest floor for the Chital to feed on whilst at the same time a member of its tribe keeps a lookout for predators from a high vantage point. The Chital also are able to warn the langurs feeding on the lower branches and on the ground of danger. Cheers, Kiran Srivastava Mumbai On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 7:40 PM, Col Bimal Sarkar <[email protected]>wrote: > > Dear Friend, > Here is the image of the 89th member of the series.In > this image a male of a Yellowbacked Sunbird is on the flowers of *Thunbergia > mysorensis.* > Regards > Col (Retd) Bimal Sarkar > Mobile: 9434194942 >
