Avian sighting Jan 2023 - Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Happy New Year 2023 Spent half a day birding at Ole Gombak road and got to lured this resident beauty into the open to its favorite plant. Passerine migrants of sort have been late coming as the weather changed dramatically. The dry condition will bring them in I hope.

 

Spiderhunter ( 7/12) ) Borneo Endemic - Bornean Spiderhunter (Lifer 556/688)

 

There are a few endemic spiderhunter in Borneo. One of them is this Bornean Spiderhunter. Apparently this tree with its longish pinkish is a favorite of spidenhunters (with their long beak) and even sunbirds. I not sure of the plants name but it may be epiphhytic rhododendron flowers.

We were hoping to see the rarity Whitehead's spiderhunter but it was absent. Instead we got   this lifer. By the way there was a same tree in KNP right behind the canteen as pointed out by Ikwan but it was not flowering. Now you know look for the tree with this flower to get a glimpse of this elusive Whitehead's for many who have yet to see including yours truly.....

We were shooting from a distance of almost 200 feet range  up in this tall tree. The picture is fully cropped. Unfortunately  we were shooting in the late afternoon after the session in hide. If it was in the morning we may have got a chance to see the Whitehead's .....sign.

Medium-sized spiderhunter with an olive back and streaked gray underparts. Inhabits lowland and submontane forests and forest edges, where it feeds primarily on nectar in the understory; favors blossoms of banana and ginger. Very similar in appearance to Gray-breasted Spiderhunter; range overlap is poorly understood but appears to be minimal. Look for Bornean’s more intensely streaked underparts and slightly larger size. Long-billed Spiderhunter can show some streaking on the breast but is much larger and longer-billed, with yellowish underparts. Sometimes noisy, giving loud raspy nasal calls. (ebird)

SPIDERHUNTER 6/7 - Spectacled Spiderhunter

Again left out another lifer bird from my bird library so posting it now when I wanted to update the the record. This pushes my lifer bird photos to 455. Still a long way to 500.

The spectacled is almost similar in features with the Yellow-eared except its is slightly broader and larger at 22cm. Its yellow ear is not as droopy but flanged to the side /top whilst its beak is definately broader. The yellow eyering definately more prominent and thicker. I also notice the greyish throat is more uniform and not streaky like the Yellow-eared.

The Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family.It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. You can see regularly see it in Lancang, Taman Negara and Sg Congkak. It the largest spiderhunter and the largest representative of its family.

So now I need to find my last spiderhunter ie no 6 the Thick-billed Spiderhunter ..............fellow birders please contact me if you see one or know of any location closeby to see this bird. The common sighting is in Sepilok and a record sighting in Bukit Rengit in 2007.....

SPIDERHUNTER 4/10 - Yellow-eared Spiderhunter

Yellow-eared Spiderhunter

SPIDERHUNTER 5/10 - Streaked Spiderhunter

Streaked Spiderhunter

SPIDERHUNTER 3/10 - Little Spiderhunter

Little Spiderhunter

Another one for the record at Kemensah. Distinctive white flange to the eyes is the give away marking At times they are oblivious of your present whilst they visit the torches of the ginger plants

SPIDERHUNTER 2/10 - Grey-breasted spiderhunter

Grey-breasted Spiderhunter

Kemensah have always surprise me with spiderhunter. Maybe because IsiRimba have planted plenty of sweet ginger plants and yam. This is the second one and the third one is the Little Spiderhunter.

SPIDERHUNTER 1/10 - Long-billed Spiderhunter

 Long-billed Spiderhunter

Long-billed Spiderhunter scientific named A Robusta. It has a striking long slender bill and greyish yellowish streaked neck and breast.

I encounter it at middle and high storey trees of soft and broadleave trees. It seldom come down to lower level unlike the Little and Streaked. That is why it is quite uncommon to see them. As you can see I only got top uplooking pictures.

However its nesting is usually made under low lying broadleaves in vessel shape.