Search

Streaked Spiderhunter – family unit & juveniles

on 13th January 2019

“My wife and I were at a hilltop cottage, standing on a platform extended out, overlooking both primary jungle as well as some flowers/bushes planted around the cottage. We had an opportunity to watch a family unit of Streaked Spiderhunters (Arachnothera magna musarum).

“David Wells in his wonderful 2007 “The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol 2 (Passarines), Christopher Helm, London” notes that:

1. There is no information on social interactions.
2. Social organisation on record is loners and occasional presumed pairs. This has been my usual observation as well.
3. Juveniles from the review area are not adequately described.
4. Clutch and fledging usually two (but data for this is limited).

“Our observations may offer a little data to supplement these areas.

Two juveniles in the crown of a tree calling out to be fed.

“We saw 4 or 5 birds together as a family unit. I say ‘4 or 5’ as action was fast and spread out. We saw them for 15 minutes. We were both watching (me with a long lens) and observed the same and different birds. My wife saw 3 juveniles and 1 adult; I saw 2 adults and 2 juveniles. I suspect there were 3 juveniles and 2 adults.

A closer image of one of the juveniles. They looked fairly mature in their plumage.

“Cheke & Mann on Streaked Spiderhunters in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive, 2018 states that the ‘clutch is 2–3 eggs’. We identified juveniles and adults from their behaviour – the juveniles we saw had a weaker flight pattern and, although there were some attempts at self-feeding, they were primarily begging for food. The juveniles were also involved in a lot of ‘horsing around’ play, flying about.

A closer image of one of the juveniles. They look fairly mature in their plumage.

“Sadly, most parent feeding episodes were in thick bushes or obstructed by foliage of trees, hence we could not observe what was fed. We saw the parents feeding primarily on nectar of flowers. I would like to suggest (no data/evidence) that perhaps part of the feeding could be regurgitation of nectar feeds to the juveniles?”

A closer image of one of the juveniles. They look fairly mature in their plumage.

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS & Datin Dr Swee-Im Lim
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
7th July 2018

Location: 1,700m ASL, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
Habitat: Trail through primary jungle

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

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.

Other posts by YC Wee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives

Overall visits (since 2005)

Live visitors
1166
15527
Visitors Today
51730417
Total
Visitors

Clustrmaps (since 2016)