12 Apr 2022

Spectacled Spiderhunter – behaviour

by | posted in: birds, Miscellaneous | 0

Post 1

I have watched the Spiderhunters that visit the flowering Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip Trees) extensively and would like to share some further observations. A number of immature birds also visited the trees; in particular the immatures of the Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster).

Post 2

When I first saw this behaviour (Post 1 & 2) I thought it could be aggressive behaviour to chase off other feeding spiderhunters. But I saw these birds also chasing their own species and posturing in this manner towards adult Spectacled Spiderhunters. So this could be immature birds begging for food.

Post 3

Wells (2007) reports similar behaviour seen before copulation, however I did not observe any mating. This particular bird did this for close to 2 minutes, with calls, allowing me some distant images. I also saw immature Grey-breasted Spiderhunters (Arachnothera modesta modesta) begging for food from adults

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Post 4

Amar-Singh HSS (Dato’ Dr) – Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Location: Perak, Malaysia

Habitat: Secondary growth adjacent to limestone outcroppings

Date: 10th December 2020

Equipment: Nikon D500 SLR with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR, handheld with Rode VideoMic Pro Plus Shotgun Microphone

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Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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