Orange-tufted Spiderhunter

This is a short video of an Orange-tufted Spiderhunter resting after a few minutes of feeding in the forest canopy. This is a Philippine endemic ranging only in the islands of Mindanao, Bohol, Samar and Leyte and is a recent split from the Little Spiderhunter complex. With the new and updated IOC list, the Orange-tufted Spiderhunter has become one of the three endemic spiderhunters in the Philippines, together with Naked-faced Spiderhunter (endemic to Luzon and Mindanao) and Pale Spiderhunter (endemic to Palawan).

Spiderhunters are omnivorous. As the name implies, they prefer to pluck small spiders from the center of spiderwebs, as well as forage for other small insects such as crickets and butterflies in the forest canopy. Their long, decurved bills together with the long and thin tongue (check it out at around 0:35 into the video) also enable them to drink nectar from flowers, a trait shared with sunbirds, their close relatives.

Orange-tufted Spiderhunter, Arachnothera flammifera
June 2014, Eden Nature Park, Toril, Davao, Mindanao, Philippines
Video by Adrian Constantino
Digiscoped with a Swarovski 80 ATM HD, Panasonic G3, Panasonic 20 mm F1.7, Swarovski UCA