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Whitehead's Spiderhunter Arachnothera juliae Scientific name definitions

Robert Cheke and Clive Mann
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 26, 2016

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

Male 16·5–18 cm, female 15·5–16·5 cm. Plumage is mainly brown, crown streaked buffy white, neck and back narrowly streaked white, rump plain bright yellow; throat with small brownish-white streaks, rest of underparts broadly streaked white, except for unmarked bright orange-yellow undertail-coverts; iris brown; bill and legs black. Sexes similar. Juvenile undescribed.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Borneo: in Sarawak (Mt Dulit, Mt Kalulong, Mt Murud, Mt Selidang, Usun Apau Plateau, Kelabit Uplands and Mt Mulu), Sabah (Mt Kinabalu, Mt Trus Madi and Crocker Range) and Kalimantan Utara (upper R Bahau and Mt Lanjut).

Habitat

Hill dipterocarp forest and montane forest, and forest edge; 930–3000 m.

Movement

Nothing recorded.

Diet and Foraging

Small arthropods, berries and nectar. Forages singly and in pairs, and occasionally in groups of up to five individuals; sometimes associates with mixed-species flocks. Feeds mostly in canopy, but also comes lower at forest edge; forages within foliage, especially among clumps of epiphytes on higher branches. Observed to probe rhododendron (Rhododendron) flowers for food.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

High-pitched squeaking song. Calls include repeated loud shrieking in flight or when perched, and prolonged twittering; wheezy 2-note call, first note rising and second falling; “teeh-teeh-wee”, last note rising; “tee-tee-swee-ee”, third note rising and last falling; also “see-wee see-wee” and “swee-eee-eee”.

Breeding

Active nest in canopy in Mar, and males with active testes in Jun and Nov. Another nest found in Aug 2012 at Mt Mulu, Sarawak, contained no eggs, but the pair was observed carrying in nest materials; it consisted of a bowl lined with fine bark material inside a naturally occurring hanging ball of moss 19 m above the ground in a large tree (1). No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Formerly considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Bornean Mountains EBA. Locally common. Possibly occurs on other mountains in Borneo. Present in the Rafflesia Forest Reserve, in the Crocker Range, and in Kinabalu Park (both in Sabah).

Distribution of the Whitehead's Spiderhunter - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Whitehead's Spiderhunter

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Cheke, R. and C. Mann (2020). Whitehead's Spiderhunter (Arachnothera juliae), 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.whispi1.01
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