It's durian season!

See also:
Myth of the "durian bird" finally cracked!
and
Durians!

These durians are of the famous (to Kuching people) Singai variety. Probably one of the best tasting varieties. The fruits are small but the flesh is very good and this is the ONLY kind I would eat as I am not a fan of durian.



Squirrels have damaged two of the fruits, gnawing away at the tough spiky skin to eat the soft flesh inside even before they ripen.

The fruits on this tree should begin to drop in a couple weeks time, assuming the pesky squirrels do not destroy them all.



This tree is quite old, and is about 30 meters high.



There's a local folk tale about durians and the "durian bird", a certain species of bird which is believed to "cause" durian trees to flower and fruit. I've never ever gotten a good look at this bird but it's about the size of a pigeon and dark in colour. It sings a repetitive tune nonstop when perched on a durian tree, "kang kang kang kuk, kang kang kang kuk" over and over again till it flies off, sometimes still singing while in the air.

Can't remember the folk tale now, but I'll update again when I have it.

Update, see:
Myth of the "durian bird" finally cracked!

One for the myth busters to crack, does this bird really cause durian trees to bear fruit? A few months ago, one bird visited this tree and look at it now! It seems to only fruit or produce a good number of fruits when visited by this bird species. This belief arose from observation by kampung people over the ages.