Nectar harvesting and pollination by spiderhunters
Posted by BESG on 24 March 09, Tuesday
Contributed by Calvin Chang
Calvin Chang a.k.a. deswitch documented two species of spiderhunters at Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia, harvesting nectar from flowers. The image above (left) shows a Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) on an ornamental banana plant (Musa ornate). That on the right shows a Little Spiderhunter (A. longirostra) on a ginger plant. In both, the bill of the spiderhunter is covered with whitish pollen. As they visit one flower after another, they effect cross pollination.
According to Gill (2007), a flap covers and protects the nostrils of some birds, especially diving and flower-feeding species. The former needs to keep out water while the latter to keep out pollen from entering their nostrils.
Images by Calvin Chang.
Reference:
Gill, F. B., 2007. Ornithology. W. H. Freeman & Co., New York. 758 pp.
This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
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Made Tuesday, 7 of April , 2009 at 12:16 am
[...] Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) and a Little Spiderhunter (A. longirostra) were shown with their bills dusted with pollen in an earlier post. This was the result of the birds collecting [...]
