Spectacled spiderhunter

Arachnothera flavigaster

Photo by Henry Goh (Images of Nature)

Common name:
spectacled spiderhunter (en); papa-aranhas-de-lunetas (pt); arachnothère à lunettes (fr); arañero de anteojos (es); brillenspinnenjäger (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Nectariniidae

Range:
This species is found in south-east Asia, in Sumatra and Borneo, Malaysia and southern Thailand and Vietnam.

Size:
These birds are 21-22 cm long and weigh 38-50 g.

Habitat:
The spectacled spiderhunter is mostly found in moist tropical forests, including forests edges, also using clearings, plantations, cultivated areas and gardens.They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.800 m.

Diet:
They feed on spiders, grasshoppers and ants, as well as pollen, fruits and nectar.

Breeding:
Spectacled spiderhunters breed in February-September. They are believed to be monogamous. The nest is a round basket made of plant fibres and lined with seed pappi. It is usually attached by spider webs to the underside of a palm from or between the leaves of a rubber fig Ficus elastica, 5-10 m above the ground. The female lays 2 pale grey or greenish eggs with dark markings, which are incubated by both parents for 13-15 days. The chicks fledge 14-19 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status -LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be frequent to uncommon. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction.