Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna magna is resident in southeast Tibet; west, south, and southeast Yunnan; southwest Guizhou; and western Guangxi. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Tropical and semi-tropical forests, to 1000 m (3,280 ft.). Takes spiders, sometimes plucking them from center of web; but very much omnivorous, and especially fond of nectar. Can hover to sip nectar and reach spiders. Flight undulating across long distances. ID Easily identifiable, with bold black streaking on yellowish-green plumage above and on yellowish-white underparts. Tail greenish with black subterminal band and pale tip. Undertail coverts have black centers with broad, yellowish-white edges. BARE PARTS Black bill long, stout, decurved. Legs bright orange. VOICE Simple chattering song consists of nervous, tuneless, rapid-fire calls. — Craig Brelsford
THE SUNBIRDS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com has research on all 13 species in the family Nectariniidae in China. Click any link below:
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Chalcoparia singalensis
Brown-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis
Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus
Olive-backed Sunbird C. jugularis
Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird Aethopyga gouldiae
Green-tailed Sunbird A. nipalensis
Fork-tailed Sunbird A. christinae
Black-throated Sunbird A. saturata
Crimson Sunbird A. siparaja
Fire-tailed Sunbird A. ignicauda
Purple-naped Sunbird Kurochkinegramma hypogrammicum
Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra
Streaked Spiderhunter A. magna
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
