Little Spiderhunter

 

Introduction of Little Spiderhunter

The Little Spiderhunter (Scientific Name: Arachnothera longirostra) are small, long-billed, nectar-feeding birds. It belongs to the Order Passeriformes and family is Nectariniidae. These birds were named so as their preferred diet is spiders.

How to Identify Little Spiderhunter

Size of Little Spiderhunter is 6.7 inches or 17 cm in length. The beak is black and is very long and curved down. Color of upper plumage is olive-green; and underparts are bright yellow with bold black streaks.

The eyes are large and dark. The head Little Spiderhunter is small and the neck is thin. The legs are thin and orange in color. The toes are long and curved.

Males and females look alike but base of the lower beak of females are paler than males. beaks of Males are  all-black 

Little Spiderhunter can be easily differentiated form other sunbirds by their distinctive long beak. The sexes are alike except for a paler base to lower mandible in the female. Male has all black beak.

Habits and Habitats

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is usually found below the canopy. They are found close to flowering  trees  that yield nectar.

Distribution

Little Spiderhunter is found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia,  Thailand, and Vietnam. Within India, they are found  in the Eastern Ghats from Lamasinghi, Visakhapatnam and parts of Orissa and the Western Ghats apart from the main distribution in north-east India that extends into Southeast Asia.

Subspecies and their distribution range:

Arachnothera magna magna - These sub-species are found in the Himalayas, in Nepal, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, eastern Bangladesh and northeastern India east to southern China and northern Burma / Myanmar.

Arachnothera magna aurata  - These sub-species are found in East and central Myanmar.

Arachnothera magna musarum - These sub-species are found in Southeastern  Myanmar in southern Shan States to northern parts of Thailand and Laos, and northern Vietnam (western Tonkin).

Arachnothera magna pagodarum -These sub-species are found in southern  Myanmar, and southwestern/western Thailand and the Southern Malay Peninsula. 

Arachnothera magna remota - These sub-species are found in South-central and southern Vietnam

Food

Little Spiderhunter  hunt and feed mainly on spiders. Beside that , they take nectar from various flowering plants like  Banana, Indian  Cotton Trees and Indian Coral Trees. They are good pollinators mainly of wild bananas.

Call

The songs are a series of rapid chipping notes. They have a buzzy zick-zick call  made regularly when disturbed or  foraging. The song is series of rapid chipping notes and these can go on for long periods.

Breeding and Nesting

Breeding season of Little Spiderhunter  occurs in March to September in northeastern India or from December to August in southern India.

Female make a compact cup-shaped nest using various twigs, leaves, moss, spider webs and blades of grass. The nest is  suspended from tree branches or under broad-leaved plant like banana; attached  by spider web and vegetable fibers. The average clutch consists of 2 eggs.