The spiderhunters are birds of the genusArachnothera, part of the sunbird family Nectariniidae. The genus contains thirteen species found in the forests of south and southeastern Asia. They are large representatives of the sunbird family, with drab plumage and long strongly curved bills. They feed on both nectar and a range of small arthropods.
Unlike the rest of the family, which is more widespread, the spiderhunters are confined to the Oriental zoogeographic region, occurring from India east to the Philippines and from the Himalayas south to Java; they reach their greatest species diversity in the Thai-Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.[2] The spiderhunters are mostly forest birds, occupying a wide range of forest types including true rainforest, dipterocarp forest, swamp forest, bamboo forest, secondary forest, forest edge and other highly degraded forest. In addition several species occur in human-created habitat such as gardens or plantations. Most species are lowland species, but the Whitehead's spiderhunter is more of a montane species.
Descriptionedit
A streaked spiderhunter about to feed on a banana palm inflorescence
The spiderhunters are amongst the largest of their family, measuring between 13 and 22 cm (5.1 and 8.7 in) in length. The spectacled spiderhunter is the heaviest of the sunbirds, weighing as much as 49 g (1.7 oz). The bills of the spiderhunters are long, at least twice the length of the head, and are decurved and stout. The tongue forms a complete tube for most of its length. The plumage is much drabber than the other brightly coloured sunbirds, is the same for both sexes, and contains no iridescence. The uppersides of most species are olive-green and the undersides dull white or yellow - in half the species the undersides are streaked. The most atypical spiderhunter plumage is that of the Whitehead's spiderhunter, which is dark brown with white streaking on the undersides and back and a yellow rump.[2]
The calls of the spiderhunters are very simple, typically a metallic chip which is repeated multiple times to form the song. The song of the little spiderhunter is described as an "incessant squeaky whistle".[2]
Diet and feedingedit
This streaked spiderhunter has pierced the side of a closed hibiscus flower and is drinking the nectar without pollinating the flower - a tactic known as nectar robbing.
The spiderhunters are omnivorous. As their name suggests they will eat spiders, and are capable of extracting spiders from the centre of their webs, a tricky task. They also consume a wide range of other small arthropod prey including crickets, caterpillars, butterflies, ants and other insects. In addition to animal prey they also consume nectar from flowers. Their tubular tongue is pushed against the top of the upper mandible of the bill, then pulled in and out, creating a pressure difference which allows the nectar to be sucked into the mouth.[2] Spiderhunters may be important pollinators of some species of plants, and species pollinated by spiderhunters have long tubular flowers.[3] They may also participate in nectar robbing, which consists of inserting the bill into the side of the flower to extract nectar without being dabbed with pollen. Little is known about their territorial behaviour, but there have been reports of some species defending territories. The spiderhunters are less gregarious than other sunbirds, and are usually seen alone or as part of a pair.[2]
Breedingedit
The spiderhunters are thought to be monogamous like most of the rest of the family. They vary from the other sunbirds in the nature of their nest, which is suspended underneath a large leaf, usually a banana leaf but sometimes a palm frond or even a branch. The style of nest can be quite variable, a simple cup in the case of the streaked spiderhunter, an elongated tube for the yellow-eared spiderhunter and a bottle shape for the long-billed spiderhunter. The nests are suspended from the leaf by using spider web or by pushing plant fibres through the leaf. The nests are made of grasses and leaves and lined with soft materials. Nest construction, as is typical of the family, is carried out by the female alone. Unlike the other sunbirds, however, both the male and female incubate the eggs. The spiderhunters lay two or three eggs. Their nests are sometimes parasitised by cuckoos.[2]
^"Nectariniidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ abcdefCheke, Robert; Mann, Clive (2008). "Family Nectariniidae (Sunbirds)". In Josep, del Hoyo; Andrew, Elliott; David, Christie (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13, Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 196–243. ISBN978-84-96553-45-3.
^Sakai, Shoko; Kato, Makoto; Tamiji Inoue (1999). "Three pollination guilds and variation in floral characteristics of Bornean gingers (Zingiberaceae and Costaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 86 (5): 646–658. doi:10.2307/2656573. PMID 10330067.
^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arachnothera.
Spiderhunter videos on the Internet Bird Collection
April 17, 2024
spiderhunter, spiderhunters, birds, genus, arachnothera, part, sunbird, family, nectariniidae, genus, contains, thirteen, species, found, forests, south, southeastern, asia, they, large, representatives, sunbird, family, with, drab, plumage, long, strongly, cu. The spiderhunters are birds of the genus Arachnothera part of the sunbird family Nectariniidae The genus contains thirteen species found in the forests of south and southeastern Asia They are large representatives of the sunbird family with drab plumage and long strongly curved bills They feed on both nectar and a range of small arthropods SpiderhuntersLittle spiderhunterArachnothera longirostraScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily NectariniidaeGenus ArachnotheraTemminck 1826Type speciesNectarinia chrysogenys 1 Temminck 1826SpeciesSee text Contents 1 Distribution and habitat 2 Description 3 Diet and feeding 4 Breeding 5 Species 6 References 7 External linksDistribution and habitat editUnlike the rest of the family which is more widespread the spiderhunters are confined to the Oriental zoogeographic region occurring from India east to the Philippines and from the Himalayas south to Java they reach their greatest species diversity in the Thai Malay peninsula Sumatra and Borneo 2 The spiderhunters are mostly forest birds occupying a wide range of forest types including true rainforest dipterocarp forest swamp forest bamboo forest secondary forest forest edge and other highly degraded forest In addition several species occur in human created habitat such as gardens or plantations Most species are lowland species but the Whitehead s spiderhunter is more of a montane species Description edit nbsp A streaked spiderhunter about to feed on a banana palm inflorescenceThe spiderhunters are amongst the largest of their family measuring between 13 and 22 cm 5 1 and 8 7 in in length The spectacled spiderhunter is the heaviest of the sunbirds weighing as much as 49 g 1 7 oz The bills of the spiderhunters are long at least twice the length of the head and are decurved and stout The tongue forms a complete tube for most of its length The plumage is much drabber than the other brightly coloured sunbirds is the same for both sexes and contains no iridescence The uppersides of most species are olive green and the undersides dull white or yellow in half the species the undersides are streaked The most atypical spiderhunter plumage is that of the Whitehead s spiderhunter which is dark brown with white streaking on the undersides and back and a yellow rump 2 The calls of the spiderhunters are very simple typically a metallic chip which is repeated multiple times to form the song The song of the little spiderhunter is described as an incessant squeaky whistle 2 Diet and feeding edit nbsp This streaked spiderhunter has pierced the side of a closed hibiscus flower and is drinking the nectar without pollinating the flower a tactic known as nectar robbing The spiderhunters are omnivorous As their name suggests they will eat spiders and are capable of extracting spiders from the centre of their webs a tricky task They also consume a wide range of other small arthropod prey including crickets caterpillars butterflies ants and other insects In addition to animal prey they also consume nectar from flowers Their tubular tongue is pushed against the top of the upper mandible of the bill then pulled in and out creating a pressure difference which allows the nectar to be sucked into the mouth 2 Spiderhunters may be important pollinators of some species of plants and species pollinated by spiderhunters have long tubular flowers 3 They may also participate in nectar robbing which consists of inserting the bill into the side of the flower to extract nectar without being dabbed with pollen Little is known about their territorial behaviour but there have been reports of some species defending territories The spiderhunters are less gregarious than other sunbirds and are usually seen alone or as part of a pair 2 Breeding editThe spiderhunters are thought to be monogamous like most of the rest of the family They vary from the other sunbirds in the nature of their nest which is suspended underneath a large leaf usually a banana leaf but sometimes a palm frond or even a branch The style of nest can be quite variable a simple cup in the case of the streaked spiderhunter an elongated tube for the yellow eared spiderhunter and a bottle shape for the long billed spiderhunter The nests are suspended from the leaf by using spider web or by pushing plant fibres through the leaf The nests are made of grasses and leaves and lined with soft materials Nest construction as is typical of the family is carried out by the female alone Unlike the other sunbirds however both the male and female incubate the eggs The spiderhunters lay two or three eggs Their nests are sometimes parasitised by cuckoos 2 Species editThe genus contains 13 species 4 Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution nbsp Little spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China India Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Nepal Philippines Thailand and Vietnam Orange tufted spiderhunter Arachnothera flammifera Philippines nbsp Pale spiderhunter Arachnothera dilutior Palawan Thick billed spiderhunter Arachnothera crassirostris Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Singapore and Thailand Long billed spiderhunter Arachnothera robusta Brunei Indonesia Malaysia and Thailand nbsp Spectacled spiderhunter Arachnothera flavigaster Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Thailand and Vietnam nbsp Yellow eared spiderhunter Arachnothera chrysogenys Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Myanmar Singapore Thailand and Vietnam nbsp Naked faced spiderhunter Arachnothera clarae Philippines nbsp Grey breasted spiderhunter Arachnothera modesta Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Myanmar Singapore Thailand and Vietnam nbsp Streaky breasted spiderhunter Arachnothera affinis Java and BaliBornean spiderhunter Arachnothera everetti Borneo nbsp Streaked spiderhunter Arachnothera magna Bangladesh Bhutan Cambodia China India Laos Malaysia Myanmar Nepal Thailand and Vietnam nbsp Whitehead s spiderhunter Arachnothera juliae BorneoReferences edit Nectariniidae aviansystematics org The Trust for Avian Systematics Retrieved 2023 07 16 a b c d e f Cheke Robert Mann Clive 2008 Family Nectariniidae Sunbirds In Josep del Hoyo Andrew Elliott David Christie eds Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 13 Penduline tits to Shrikes Barcelona Lynx Edicions pp 196 243 ISBN 978 84 96553 45 3 Sakai Shoko Kato Makoto Tamiji Inoue 1999 Three pollination guilds and variation in floral characteristics of Bornean gingers Zingiberaceae and Costaceae American Journal of Botany 86 5 646 658 doi 10 2307 2656573 PMID 10330067 Gill Frank Donsker David eds 2019 Dippers leafbirds flowerpeckers sunbirds World Bird List Version 9 1 International Ornithologists Union Retrieved 30 January 2019 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arachnothera Spiderhunter videos on the Internet Bird Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spiderhunter amp oldid 1208448056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
