Whitehead's Spiderhunter - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Jason Bugay Reyes
Sabah, Borneo, March 2016

Identification

15.5 - 18cm (6-7 in). A very distinctive Spiderhunter.

Long decurved black bill
Mainly brown plumage
Buffy white streaks on crown
White narrow streaks on neck and back
Plain bright yellow rump
Small brownish-white streaks on throat, rest of underparts broadly streaked white
Unmarked bright orange-yellow undertail-coverts

Sexes similar, juveniles undescribed.

Endemic to northern Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia, Kalimantan Timur in Indonesia).
A locally common restricted-range species.

This is a monotypic species.

Hill and montane forest.
Occurs from 930 to 3000m.

Feeds on small arthropods, nectar and berries.
Forages singly, in pairs or sometimes small groups. Occasionally in mixed-species flocks.

A nest was recorded in March. No other information about breeding.

No movements known.

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2008. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553453

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Whitehead's Spiderhunter. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Whitehead%27s_Spiderhunter