Purple-naped Sunbird/Spiderhunter? Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo (1 Viewer)

[dixonlau]

Location: Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Date: 31-March-2022

Taken in early morning where light still not sufficient. Have to use fill flash for this shot. I am confused this is either a sunbird or spiderhunter? On ebird it is stated as spiderhunter whereas on other website (incl wikipedia), they all stated as sunbird. Both scientific name are same, Kurochkinegramma hypogrammicum. Unfortunate, no other clear shot available.

 

[Butty]

A name is just a name - it doesn't change the identification.

 

[andyb39]

It's a Spiderhunter.

 

[dixonlau]

It's a Spiderhunter.

Thanks Andy.

 

[THE_FERN]

There's an increasing move to try and make common/English names reflect phylogenetic relationships. Witness the wholesale renaming of South American species. It's generally a bit pointless. English names evolve and (for European species at least) have a rich and varied history. You might as well try and standardise English itself (doomed to failure, just like for any other living language).

So don't be surprised if you find different common names for the same thing. Where the Americans are actively researching phylogeny and taxonomy (not so much where you are), you'll find the scientific names will keep changing too. In fact, the general rule is that the more people researching a group the more often its names change...

(So most insect names don't change much)

 

[KC Foggin]

After searching the web for a bit, I go with Spiderhunter.

 

[dixonlau]

There's an increasing move to try and make common/English names reflect phylogenetic relationships. Witness the wholesale renaming of South American species. It's generally a bit pointless. English names evolve and (for European species at least) have a rich and varied history. You might as well try and standardise English itself (doomed to failure, just like for any other living language).

So don't be surprised if you find different common names for the same thing. Where the Americans are actively researching phylogeny and taxonomy (not so much where you are), you'll find the scientific names will keep changing too. In fact, the general rule is that the more people researching a group the more often its names change...

(So most insect names don't change much)

Still a lot to learn. Thanks for the explaination.

After searching the web for a bit, I go with Spiderhunter.

Thank you KC.

 

[njlarsen]

Of international lists, IOC keeps it as a sunbird while Clements has it as a spiderhunter. Go with the one you like best.
Niels