Malaysia Birding Trip (Sunbirds and Relatives)

In this blog post I will be sharing about a beautiful group of birds: sunbirds, spiderhunters, and flowerpeckers. Sunbirds and spiderhunters belong in the family Nectariniidae, which has 148 species, of which I saw six: the Long-billed Spiderhunter, Purple-naped Spiderhunter, Ornate Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Crimson Sunbird, and the Little Spiderhunter. Flowerpeckers belong in the Dicaeidae family, which has 53 species, but I only saw two though: the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and the Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker.

Purple-naped Spiderhunter

The Little and the Long-billed Spiderhunters are in the same genus, Arachnothera. Both are pretty dull-looking spiderhunters, with the Little Spiderhunter being the prettier of the two. It has a white breast, yellow underbelly, and white mustaches. It is not picky about its habitats, sometimes it can even be found in plantations and other disturbed habitats. It favors food similar to the hummingbirds of the Americas, taking nectar from durian, banana, and other fruit trees. What is special about spiderhunters is that not only do they hunt spiders, but they also feed on the insects trapped on the spiderwebs! I didn’t get a good look at these particular spiderhunters, mainly because every time they would show up, I would be preoccupied by other birds. I was always either trying to get a good look at them or get a decent picture. By the time I was done, I would get a very quick look at the spiderhunters before they’d move on. The next spiderhunter however, I got a long look at, and a fantastic picture.

Purple-naped Spiderhunter

The Purple-naped Spiderhunter has an olive green body, typical of spiderhunters. It has a streaked breast, a purple nape, a purple rump, and has a noticeably smaller beak than the other spiderhunters. Its habitats and preferred food are very similar to the first two spiderhunters, but the Purple-naped also feeds on fruits and seeds. We saw this spiderhunter after the Diard’s Trogon. We walked into the tree cover, then we heard this chirping sound. Julianna said it was some sort of spiderhunter. After some searching, I found it through the leaves. It was a cool spiderhunter, being purple, dad’s favorite color, we were both excited. After calling to it a couple times, it came into an unobscured view - quite a picturesque scene. 

Crimson Sunbird

Sunbirds are very radiant birds, unmistakable upon encountering them. All three sunbirds that I saw belong in separate genuses, Ornate in the Cinnyris, Brown-throated in the Anthreptes, and the Crimson in the Aethopyga. The Ornate Sunbird is actually very similar to the Olive-backed Sunbird, a rare vagrant in Taiwan. It has an olive back, a yellow belly, and a purplish-blue iridescent throat. It is quite a common bird, often seen in parks or gardens. It feeds on small insects and takes nectar from various plants. This is a more memorable bird, as we saw it on our first day in Kuching, just wandering around town. I had read in a magazine that there was a delicious ice cream place not far from our hotel, so after we did some exploring around Chinatown, we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream, and gave our tired feet a little break. After the treat we came out of the shop, and on a roadside plant there was a Ornate Sunbird jumping around. Very excited, I started to take pictures, but I only had my 24-70mm lens on me, so the effect was very limited, and I had to zoom in a lot just to identify the bird. 

The Brown-throated Sunbird is even more vibrant than the Ornate Sunbird, with a brown throat, a yellow belly, an iridescent patch of teal on its nape, a brown face, and some bright blue here and there. It is a bird hard to miss, and common in suitable habitats. It is an outgoing bird, always singing while foraging. The Brown-throated Sunbird also eats insects, caterpillars, fruits, and nectar.  It is sometimes feisty, and will chase other birds away from nectar sources. We saw this bird numerous times; in Bako, Batang Ai and in Kubah too. Every time I would see it, it would be like a ball of energy, jumping from branch to branch, nearly impossible to photograph. Sometimes, a bit like the Taiwanese flowerpeckers, it would remain in one spot, either turning from left to right or moving around a lot, calling the whole time. 

Personally, I think the Crimson Sunbird is the most exotic of the three, with a bright red neck and breast, extending to its back, and a blue crown and tail, with purplish streaks on its throat. It eats the same things the other Sunbirds do - nectar insects and spiders. The most memorable sighting of this sunbird was in Bako National Park, as I was strolling through the woods around the lodge, I saw this bird on a flowering tree. I picked up my binoculars, and sure enough, it was a Crimson Sunbird, a dazzling beauty, just there right in front of me, calmly taking nectar. Another fond encounter was in Kubah National Park, in the empty lot outside. We had walked to the end of the lot, and on this tree there was a bird singing, and it was the Crimson Sunbird. This particular bird was very cooperative, and stayed in one place long enough for me to get a decent picture. 

Brown-throated Sunbird

The next family of birds is the Dicaeidae, aka the flowerpeckers. We saw two types of flowerpeckers, the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, and the Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker. The Orange-bellied Flowerpecker is a tiny bird, with a slightly down curved beak, an orange belly, gray throat, yellow rump and back, the rest is all aegean blue. It feeds on fruits and nectar, because of this, it’s usually observed near fruiting or flowering plants. I saw this bird in Bako and in Kubah, but I remember the Kubah one a lot better. At the empty lot, it was still early in the morning and the sun hadn’t come out yet. We were kind of just waiting around, when a bird flew to the top of the tree in front of us. Because the colors are similar, I mistakenly thought it was a Scarlet Minivet. It was actually an Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, it was super cute, a tiny bird calling very eagerly. 

Orange-bellied Flowerpecker

The Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker is an equally charming bird. This bird has a larger beak than the Orange-bellied, an entirely yellow underside, a red patch on its throat, and a red crown. It favors a similar habitat with the Orange-bellied, but besides just fruit, this flowerpecker also eats insects too. This bird we saw in Kubah National Park, at the frog pond. While we were walking on the boardwalk, this flowerpecker just flew right into the tree in front of me. I took out my camera, and got a beautiful shot of it with its fiery red breast, a sight to remember.

Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker