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Least Honeyguide Indicator exilis Scientific name definitions

Lester L. Short and Jennifer F. M. Horne
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 16, 2016

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

c. 14 cm; 12–23 g. Well-marked, dark honeyguide. Both sexes of nominate race with white loral area outlined darkly, distinct blackish malar stripes , dark-tipped white outer tail; breast light greyish-olive, paler on flanks and belly, dark streaks on flanks. Distinguished from very similar I. minor and I. conirostris by smaller size, and very dark, sharply outlined flank streaks. Immature very like smaller I. willcocksi and <em>I. pumilio</em> , but stronger flank streaks and distinct malar. Races <em>pachy­rhynchus</em> and poensis paler than nominate, pachyrhynchus also larger.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Relationships uncertain. In the past, I. willcocksi, I. meliphilus and even I. minor were often confused with present species, and I. pumilio, too, was on occasion linked with present species. Nominate race and pachyrhynchus intergrade in broad zone from E Central African Republic and SW Sudan to NE DRCongo and W Uganda, where precise limits of respective ranges unclear. Form leona, known from a single immature taken near Freetown (Sierra Leone), now considered a synonym of nominate. Specimens from N Liberia (Wonegizi) said to be very similar to I. willcocksi ansorgei from neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, possibly representing undescribed race of present species; alternatively, they may be referable to I. willcocksi. Four subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Indicator exilis exilis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Senegal to eastern Central African Republic, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, and northwestern Zambia
SUBSPECIES

Indicator exilis poensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Bioko I.
SUBSPECIES

Indicator exilis pachyrhynchus Scientific name definitions

Distribution

SW South Sudan and extreme E DRCongo, E to W Kenya and S to NW Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
SUBSPECIES

Indicator exilis cerophagus Scientific name definitions

Distribution

southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, extreme eastern Angola, and northwestern Zambia

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Primary and secondary forest, old clearings, forest-shrub-grassland mosaic, gallery forest, plantations with trees, and edges of forest villages. Often near bee nests in forest. From lowlands up to 2400 m; on Bioko, usually found up to 600 m, but recorded up to 1400 m.

Movement

Probably sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

Eats beeswax; also larvae and eggs of bees, beetles, flies and their eggs, grasshoppers, aphids, scale insects (Coccidae), leafhoppers (Homoptera), caterpillars, ants, termites, and various spiders; also some fruits. Several may gather at bees’ nest where wax is accessible; spends up to 66 minutes at a time feeding. Active, sallies for flying insects, investigates cavities.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song  faster “wheer-wheer-” to slower “pew-pew-” series, very like those of I. minor and I. conirostris but higher-pitched; also rattly, aggressive trill, “kwiew, kwiew”, and aggressive “tsa-tsa-”.

Breeding

Season often prolonged, e.g. Aug–Mar in Liberia; recorded Feb and May in Cameroon, Jan and Jun in Zaire. Territorial, defends singing territory; displays in flight. Hosts unknown, but likely barbets, e.g. tinkerbirds (Pogoniulus) and Grey-throated Barbet (Gymnobucco bonapartei). No information on eggs, or incubation and nestling periods; young probably leave foster-parents soon after fledging. Large gonads of juveniles suggest that they can breed in first year.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Widespread, but not common; precise distribution and status in W Africa unclear. Uncommon in Sierra Leone; locally not uncommon in NW & N Liberia; local and uncommon in Kenya. Race poensis not rare; has adapted to cocoa and coffee plantations and other woodland areas modified by man. Known to occur in Kakamega Nature Reserve, Kenya. Appears to be somewhat adaptable, occurring in various wooded habitats. As with little-known forest species of all kinds, more information is required on its biology before any potential threats can be assessed.
Distribution of the Least Honeyguide - Range Map
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Distribution of the Least Honeyguide

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Short, L. L. and J. F. M. Horne (2020). Least Honeyguide (Indicator exilis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.leahon2.01
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