Young Little Spiderhunter in close range

Heliconia psittacorum

 An early morning walk in the park this morning was well rewarded with an encounter of a young Little Spiderhunter.  Before doing some serious harvesting of the oil palm fruits later in the day,  I decided to recce  the area to get some inkling of the tonnage of fruits to be harvested.  Hearing the familiar call of the Spiderhunter at Zone C,  I moved in quietly to get a glimpse.  It was a little bird just learning to fly.  The tiny young bird saw me but was quite friendly and allowed me to come close  for a better view of its soft and not fully developed beak.  It was among the Heliconia psittacorum's yellow bracts and flowers, experimenting with its custom-built beaks.  The trick never fails here.   Plant more heliconias to attract the Little Spiderhunter.  You'll be surprised generation after generation will make the  park their home.  Here are up-close and  personal pictures of the young chick.

Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra)
Location : Zone C

Photoshoot session with the Little Spiderhunter

Photoshoot session on 28 Oct'14
Model : little Spiderhunter
Location : Zone B, Kambatik Park, Bintulu.
Camera -  Nikon D5100

It hoovers like a hummingbird

Little Spiderhunter - hoovering like a hummingbird

 Its behaviour is just like a hummingbird especially when it hoovers in front of the heliconia bracts to have a go at the nectar.  But there aren't any hummingbird at the park.  Instead we have an equivalent in the Little Spiderhunter that makes the park its home. With its bill gently curved it makes good fit into the shape of the bract, thus enabling it to enjoy the nectar and other nutrient insects gathered at the base of the bracts.  Surprisingly, I do notice it on many occasions piercing the bract from outside to reach at the nectar. 

Photoshoot session with the Little Spiderhunter

 It has been quite a while since I had a photoshoot session with the Little Spiderhunter.  Today she decided to drop by for another modelling session.  She was too  occupied moving about the Ixora coccinea flowers trying to sip nectar that she forgot I was aiming my lens at her.  Looking at her makes me realize how nature has perfected her gently curved bill to do the siphoning work in order to collect nectar from the flowers.  In Malay the bird is called "Kelicap Jantung".  She is often seen dashing in and out of the flowering shrubs foraging for nectar or insects.  The shrubs she loved are like the Heliconia 'Sexy Pink', the yellow Ixora coccinea and the Shrubby Dillenia.

Little Spiderhunter at the Ixora coccinea flowers

Model - Little Spiderhunter

Photoshoot session : Scene #1, 4 March'14

Photoshoot session : Scene #1, 4 March'14

Photoshoot session : Scene #2 , 7 March'14

Photoshoot session : Scene #2 , 7 March'14

Photoshoot session : Scene #3 , 7 March'14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photoshoot session : Scene #3 , 7 March'14

Photoshoot session : Scene #3 , 7 March'14