Spiderhunters and African tulip

Posted by BESG on 11 July 09, Saturday
Contributed by Adrian Lim

Adrian Lim a.k.a. wmw998 photographed a Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) visiting the flowers of the African tulip (Spathodea campanulata) to feed on the nectar (above). Along came a Yellow-eared Spiderhunter (A. chrysogenys) but was chased away by the former. The Yellow-eared had to wait its turn to get at the nectar.

An earlier post shows how the Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) robs the flower of nectar by puncturing it at its base. Spiderhunters have a longer bill and it would be interesting to find out whether the bird takes the nectar from the top of the flower or, like the bulbul, from below.

Image by Adrian Lim.

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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Categories: Feeding-plants, Interspecific

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