Little Spiderhunter

Overview

The little spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra) is a long-billed nectar-feeding bird in the family Nectariniidae found in the moist forests of South and Southeast Asia. Unlike typical sunbirds, males and females are very similar in plumage. They are usually seen in ones or twos and frequently make a tzeck call.

Identification

• Distinctive long beak sets it apart from other sunbirds.
• Sexes are similar, except that the female has a paler base on the lower mandible, while the male has an all-black beak.
• Buzzing 'zick-zick' call made regularly when disturbed or foraging, with songs consisting of series of rapid chipping notes.

Habitat

Found in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, mangrove forests, and moist montane forests, usually below the canopy. Also found in gardens and plantations, attracted especially by flowers that yield nectar. Range includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Diet

Obtains nectar from flowering plants, including wild Musaceae and garden flowers. Good pollinators of wild banana species and several species of the ginger family, often visiting Loranthus sp., Bombax malabaricum, and Erythrina indica.

Did you know?

The nest is a compact cup attached under a leaf of banana or similar broad-leaved plant, suspended using 150 or so 'pop-rivets' of cobwebs and vegetable fibre, a unique method of using spider silk for animal architecture. In Sarawak, the Kayan, Kenyah and Punan people consider it a bird of good omen.