There are limited records of nest construction and breeding of the Plain Sunbird Anthreptes simplex (Cheke & Mann 2020). Previously I had seen a completed nest that sadly failed (Amar-Singh HSS 2022). On 18 July 2024, at the Kledang Saiong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, I observed a pair of Plain Sunbirds collecting nesting material.
I had been keeping an eye on a creeper (vine) in the forest that produces gourds. When they dry up, they burst open and the seeds are carried on the wind by silky white tufts (seed-pappus). Just recently I saw a female Brown-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis collect the material, at the same site, to pad the inside of a nest (Amar-Singh HSS 2024). This female had broken open the side and collected the ‘cotton-like’ seed-pappus. On reflection, in the past I had seen Grey-breasted Spiderhunters Arachnothera modesta also collecting this material for their nest (Amar-Singh HSS 2021) and a Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius.
On this occasion, I saw a pair of Plain Sunbirds alight on the tree that the same vine is growing. Only the female collected material but the accompanying male appeared to be watching out for threats (Plate 1).
The female visited a number of the already burst gourds and collected extensive amounts of the seed-pappus (Plates 2 & 3).
Intermittently she stopped to shake off the seeds using a branch. They flew off together but I was sadly not able to follow to locate the nest.
It is interesting that a number of the Nectariniidae family collect seed-pappus to line the inside of nests.
References:
1. Amar-Singh HSS. (2024). Observations on Nesting of Brown-throated Sunbirds. Bird Ecology Study Group. https://besgroup.org/2024/07/12/observations-on-nesting-of-brown-throated-sunbirds/
2. Amar-Singh HSS. (2022). Plain Sunbird Anthreptes simplex Nesting. Bird Ecology Study Group. https://besgroup.org/2022/05/22/plain-sunbird-anthreptes-simplex-nesting/
3. Amar-Singh HSS. (2021). Grey-breasted Spiderhunter – nesting material. Bird Ecology Study Group. https://besgroup.org/2021/07/29/grey-breasted-spiderhunter-nesting-material/
4. Cheke, R. and C. Mann (2020). Plain Sunbird (Anthreptes simplex), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Amar
(Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
