Another 'What is it?'

[PeterD]

Seen on a leaf, similar to the last posting.


Click here for larger image.


Click here for larger image.

Thank you

[Brocakat]

Could be the ova of a Moth / [ Less Likely a ] Butterfly ?

[The Woodman]

The glutinous fleshy axil of a yew berry as wiped from the beak of a bird.

[tcvarlh]

Yep, Yew got it Woodman.

sorry, sorry, couldn't resist!

h

[PeterD]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

Could be the ova of a Moth / [ Less Likely a ] Butterfly ?

Thanks for your reply

Originally Posted by The Woodman

The glutinous fleshy axil of a yew berry as wiped from the beak of a bird.

I would never have guessed. My earlier mystery image of a seed on a jelly base now makes absolute sense. The seed must have landed and become attached to the substance. I shall post this on my site but I am wondering under what heading

Originally Posted by tcvarlh

Yep, Yew got it Woodman.

sorry, sorry, couldn't resist!

h

LOL

[Brocakat]

I must admit that this has now got me puzzled.....

Given that there is an archived , related thread on this site entitled "Yew Tree Toxins", dated 23/11/05., and I 'd like to refer people to that, for a bit of background info.

I believed that Yew berries were ingested - whole / completlely - by the birds for their consumption of the sweet red,fleshy arils, and that the seed inside each aril was excreted, in a typical way that other tree specie such as Sorbus are spread .

That being the case, the part of the aril that is attractive to the birds ( and from the thread I relate - also to some people ! ) is the fleshy part, and this
surely is that part which is consumed and digested - whilst (only) the pip/seed is excreted, to possibly germinate in a favourable conditions (?)

[PeterD]

Originally Posted by Brocakat

I must admit that this has now got me puzzled.....

Given that there is an archived , related thread on this site entitled "Yew Tree Toxins", dated 23/11/05., and I 'd like to refer people to that, for a bit of background info.

I believed that Yew berries were ingested - whole / completlely - by the birds for their consumption of the sweet red,fleshy arils, and that the seed inside each aril was excreted, in a typical way that other tree specie such as Sorbus are spread .

That being the case, the part of the aril that is attractive to the birds ( and from the thread I relate - also to some people ! ) is the fleshy part, and this
surely is that part which is consumed and digested - whilst (only) the pip/seed is excreted, to possibly germinate in a favourable conditions (?)

Thank you for this reply. Now I too am very puzzled
What you say makes a great deal of sense. I wonder if someone else will join in the discussion and throw more light on this.
My previous, now absolutely related images, I include below:





In these images, a seed has fallen onto the glutinous fleshy axil and become stuck.

It's surpised me how The Woodman managed to come up with the answer in the first place. I am glad I was inquisitive enough to ask.

[tcvarlh]

Not wholly certain of this but the old adage of 'one man's meat is another's poison', must hold fast in the Animal Kingdom.
Mayhap there is a bird that is not affected by the Yew seed toxin and doesn't eat the fruit body? Logically there must be, which I don't know. I have noticed a few Blackbirds eating from my Pyracanthus, the berries are toxic (how strongly I have no data on) and the birds only take a few. My Dad spent a lot of time watching 'his' Blackbirds and came up with the number 5, the number of berries taken daily by each bird. He knew each ruddy bird, don't ask me how. Perhaps something similar, or used as a medicine, the way certain carnivores will eat grass?
It could also be a fumbled beak-full!
Whatever, it is certainly worth looking out for.
h

[The Woodman]

I have a yew tree that is approximately 20 yrs old growing 10 yards from where I sit typing now. It was a two year old seedling in the border when I moved into this house and is now shaping up by topiaryto be a majestic bird of unknown species . This autumn it was loaded with berries, so many fell as I was trimming the secondary growth last week that I attempted to sweep them from the drive onto the border. Total waste of time, each aril was so ripe it just collapsed and stuck to the concrete or the brushes bristles.

The blackbirds have been having a field day and occassionally an aril gets stuck to the beak and the bird wipes it off on a convenient twig/branch/leaf.

Brocakat's beliefs are quite correct - birds swallow the whole thing digesting the aril and passing the seed. It is only the occassion berry that gets stuck on the beak or cheek that gets wiped off.

I was watching a Jay a couple of weeks ago eating a large caterpillar on an upland forest edge. This was one of those big dark furry caterpillars from a Fox or Emperor Moth. It took a while to "bash" the larva on the branch it was on before it disemboweled it eating the gut before the skin. The final act was wiping its beak several times on the branch. I think the bashing was to kill the larva (the same action as a kingfisher killing a minnow) but moreso to rid it of the spiky hairs. The beak wiping action to rid the stuck on stuff is common to many birds. Thrushes wiping slug and snail mucus is often seen.

My Labrador ate a number of yew arils on my drive and I was advised by the vet to make her vomit. Despite a mugfull of saturated salt solution forced down her throat she didn't vomit and lives happily for me to tell the tale.

I told this tale to someone recently who told me that as a child she used to eat yew berries and suffered no ill effect.

[PeterD]

Originally Posted by tcvarlh

Not wholly certain of this but the old adage of 'one man's meat is another's poison', must hold fast in the Animal Kingdom.
Mayhap there is a bird that is not affected by the Yew seed toxin and doesn't eat the fruit body? Logically there must be, which I don't know. I have noticed a few Blackbirds eating from my Pyracanthus, the berries are toxic (how strongly I have no data on) and the birds only take a few. My Dad spent a lot of time watching 'his' Blackbirds and came up with the number 5, the number of berries taken daily by each bird. He knew each ruddy bird, don't ask me how. Perhaps something similar, or used as a medicine, the way certain carnivores will eat grass?
It could also be a fumbled beak-full!
Whatever, it is certainly worth looking out for.
h

Thanks for your interesting contribution to this thread.

Originally Posted by The Woodman

I have a yew tree that is approximately 20 yrs old growing 10 yards from where I sit typing now. It was a two year old seedling in the border when I moved into this house and is now shaping up by topiaryto be a majestic bird of unknown species . This autumn it was loaded with berries, so many fell as I was trimming the secondary growth last week that I attempted to sweep them from the drive onto the border. Total waste of time, each aril was so ripe it just collapsed and stuck to the concrete or the brushes bristles.

The blackbirds have been having a field day and occassionally an aril gets stuck to the beak and the bird wipes it off on a convenient twig/branch/leaf.

Brocakat's beliefs are quite correct - birds swallow the whole thing digesting the aril and passing the seed. It is only the occassion berry that gets stuck on the beak or cheek that gets wiped off.

I was watching a Jay a couple of weeks ago eating a large caterpillar on an upland forest edge. This was one of those big dark furry caterpillars from a Fox or Emperor Moth. It took a while to "bash" the larva on the branch it was on before it disemboweled it eating the gut before the skin. The final act was wiping its beak several times on the branch. I think the bashing was to kill the larva (the same action as a kingfisher killing a minnow) but moreso to rid it of the spiky hairs. The beak wiping action to rid the stuck on stuff is common to many birds. Thrushes wiping slug and snail mucus is often seen.

My Labrador ate a number of yew arils on my drive and I was advised by the vet to make her vomit. Despite a mugfull of saturated salt solution forced down her throat she didn't vomit and lives happily for me to tell the tale.

I told this tale to someone recently who told me that as a child she used to eat yew berries and suffered no ill effect.

When I think about it, you are probably right as to why I have found these deposits on the leaf. It made me think back to the time I feed the birds in the winter on bread soaked in honey and water. The large birds eat the food and invariably scrape or shake off that which on their beaks. The smaller birds realise this and wait below for the dropped crumbs.
Thank you The Woodman, you have told us what the deposits I found are and also have given a good explanation on how it got there. It also fits neatly in with all the other comments others have made on this thread.