Spiderhunters of India... Little Spiderhunter and Streaked Spiderhunter

Spiderhunters can be seen sunbirds on junk diet. After all, how do you explain the drab colours when rest of the Sunbirds are so shiny, beautiful and colourful? Well - spiderhunters are of the genus Arachnothera, part of sunbird family Nectariniidae. There are eleven species found in South and Southeastern Asia. 

These birds (two of them found in India) were very high on my list of birds to see - but unfortunately, they are absent from my local areas of birding around my city so remained elusive during my visits to the birding around Chandigarh. Then I got a break - in the Zoological park of Dimapur early this year I saw a bird - Little Spiderhunter on a Banana plant flowers. Unfortunately, the sighting was just a flicker and it was gone. It did not meet my requirement of observing the bird to my satisfaction so that I could tick the bird on my life list - but the beginning was made and I stand by what I have felt for a long time - once the birds decides to show itself - it is just a matter of time before it gets ticked. My next birding was 3,000 km from Dimapur - Ganeshgudi in Karnataka. The bird - Little Spiderhunter visited the bird bath set out by the Old Magazine House and gave sightings on two days to my heart's content - I awed at the beak of the bird - peered through the camera and saw the bird - the beak - the flicking of its tongue as it sipped water and bathed itself. Now only the second bird remained - the bigger cousin of this bird found only in East India and further Eastwards - the Streaked Spiderhunter. I bigger cousin as little spiderhunter is 13-16cm - the Streaked spiderhunter is 17-20cm. 

That sighting too was not too far away - in April I was in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh - and there it was - a flicker of the Streaked Spiderhunter - after that, the sightings were off and on - not for too long or as good as they were of the Little one - but good nevertheless. The bird seen in flight had a typical flight pattern - flap wings - fold them and become a rocket till the next flap. With the long and curved beaks - coupled with this flying we were soon seeing them flirting from the top of the tree canopies off and on.

The diet and the feeding of these birds require a special mention - their bills are long and almost twice the length of the head. The tongue forms a complete tube for most of the length of the beak - this beak-tube and the tongue is like an injection sucking nectar from the base of the flowers. Now, this is a wonderful and important way of pollination. These birds are also known as Nectar Robbers - they use the long bill and insert them from the side of the flowers to avoid being dabbed by the pollen - this tactic is called Nectar Robbing. The birds will eat spiders and are capable of extracting spiders from the centre of their webs - and that is not a small feat - the feat that earns them their name - Spiderhunters. With these two spiderhunters safely bagged - I am eagerly looking forward to the nine left - it may take time and effort as I have to travel out of my country to snap them.

Little Spiderhunter

Oh my! Oh my! what a beak...

Little Spiderhunter in his own bathtub 😜

Okay - here goes the Streaked Spiderhunter - the only good shot I got of this bird in Arunachal

Range of Little Spiderhunter - see the break in range in India

Streaked Spiderhunter range

Before I pen off - I too discovered an interesting fact about these birds while researching for this article - the nests are frequently parasitized byViolet Cuckoo, Asian Emerald Cuckoo, common Cuckoo, Large and Hodgson's Hawk-cuckoo.

How small can a bundle of joy be? Black-eared Shrike-babbler

11.5 to 12 cm is what is listed for this bird and it truly became a bundle of joy - as I scoured the jungles and walked relentlessly to find one bird that I can tick off as a lifer.

We had a day off and Khonoma is just a two and half hours drive, unfortunately for me, there was no bird guide as the only one, (in entire Nagaland I believe) Mr Anguilie was busy during the day. As it is my decision to start was taken late and I reached Khonoma around 1030 - the time of the day during which the bird activity ebbs to the lowest - from around 1100 to 1300hrs. Nevertheless, I was just not giving up. I entered from one forest track to another - not finding anything. The strong winds and frequent drizzle may have been to blame - but then when I sighted this tiny little bird as I was about to end the day after almost 6 hours and not finding anything that would have hang my head in disgust - this small bird hopped into my vision and lifted my spirits to the seventh heaven. 

Frankly, there were problems like the bird was too far away and down beneath the towering trees and the light was just about trickling down - but the camera at 800 iso and little bit of photoshop could bring out the colours and the gave life to this highly cropped shot.

Highly cropped shot - the original shot at 500 mm is included below

The second of the only two shots I got... 

The original shot with the bird almost non-existent in the centre...

As they say - all's well that ends well. A little about the bird now - this is a bird that has two subspecies and the one pictured above is the ssp melanotis. This bird is found in the Indian Subcontinent at 1200-2800m and recorded locally down to 300 m. Generally found singly or in pairs often with mixed flock. My sighting was with a large flock of Yellow-bellied Fantails. Handbook of the Birds lists this bird as winter immigrant in Nagaland improbable and require substantiation.

The range of the bird is fairly large...

Oh that bird ! - the White-rumped Shama...

It is not an uncommon bird - the White-rumped Shama, it has a huge range and like so many Himalayan species - the range ends just about 100 odd km from my home - Chandigarh. This and the fact that it was also one of the birds that I have chased for a fairly long time,  that I actually remember never seeing in my life - so this was a bird, a True Lifer. Often birders going to Dehradun would report this bird and many-a-times I tried chasing but to no avail. 

And then last month I planned the magical trip to Ganeshgudi and kept this one bird in the list of birds that I would like to see. I saw it - and guess what - I saw the bird up close in Ganeshgudi and then saw it once again 3,000 km from Ganeshgudi in Dimapur - and that too those two sightings in a gap of 10 days. This brings me to the point that I have realised so many time - with Wallcreeper, with Blue-bearded Bee-eaters and so many other birds - you may chase the bird you like but you will spot them the day they decide that it is time for you to see them. 

Now a little bit about this bird - it is a mid-sized bird - 21-28 cm in size that includes a fairly long tail of almost 7 cm in males. Tha tail is graduated with dark blue-black glossy head of male and grey-black upper parts in a female. The underparts of the tail and the rump is white. There are five subspecies and what I saw in Ganeshgudi would be ssp malabarica and the subspecies in Dimapur might be ssp tricolor (this one I have to confirm). What makes this bird so special is the fact that it has one of the finest, rich, powerful and almost fluty melodious song. The bird is not listed as threatened and infact said to be locally common at places in India. 

Here goes, some of the beautiful pictures of my sighting one two occasions in Ganeshgudi over two days and one sighting in Zoological park of Dimapur.

The first sight - White-rumped Shama (male). The graduated tail clearly visible...

Same bird on day two. A great sighting though the bird was very very sharp and suspicious on both days...

The sightings at Dimapur were of three birds, with the breeding season on - the birds were all males and aggressive...

The sightings of the birds in Dimapur were not from as close as in OMG - but great nevertheless...

The range of the bird...

The range of the bird is huge as I explained earlier but then this is shared by all five sub-species and its strength or the thing of beauty is also it's greatest enemy. Having a great song - this bird is trapped as a songbird and by mid-1980 it became rare in Java due to trapping and trade. The Kangean race is now so rare that the very survival is in question.

You can connect the dots for yourself. The recordings of this bird are restricted on Xeno-canto - the biggest resource of bird sounds due to the immense pressure and the fact that the recordings are more likely as not are used for trapping and luring the birds. I do not have anything else to say and I rest my case...

The Great Hornbill... let the real story be told!

It is a beautiful bird. Beautiful, large, elegant and impressive. It is one bird that has one of the most important place in the history of Nagaland. The Great Hornbill is perhaps best known for its beauty, alertness and grandeur. This one is the only bird that has had most profound significance in traditions of indigenous people of Nagaland from days immemorial. As the history goes the Nagas consider it as the king of birds and is revered as a symbol of courage. The feathers of this bird are used to be worn either by the chieftains in the yesteryears or worn by warriors of repute standing. 

That hunt for the feather, the horn and the meat in these times of diluted traditions has pushed the bird rapidly towards extinction. The situation is so bad that in the state of Nagaland the bird was known to be a common site half a century ago, and today there is officially only one surviving bird and that too in captivity in the Zoological park of Dimapur, Nagaland. The name of the bird is 'Julie' and my Blog Header is my tribute to the only living bird in the State. One article in 'eastern-today' describes the situation where this bird has been virtually eaten to extinction. If this is the state of 'icon' of a bird of Nagaland that figures in a million myths, fables, folklore, songs and dances then consider the state of birds that are nothing but a snack.

One of the lucky few birds to live their almost four odd decades of life span in the wild - living free...

Same bird as above...

The range of this magneficient bird...

My own experience in Nagaland has moved me to tears on many a occasions. Every household has guns for hunting. If guns appear common then consider a million air guns and catapults in every one's hand. I have not come across anything larger than a house sparrow in the state. Infact, other than my visit to Khonoma District - the state is devoid of bird songs. I remember a few days back when I heard an airgun being fired as I sipped my drinks at night in the resort where I stay while on the visit to the state. I got up and saw three people busy shooting down sparrows roosting on a tree with a torch and an airgun. I threatened them to stop, they did stop but I am of a firm belief that if the people of the state do not rise up to stop this tradition of hunting then the urge of years of tradition of hunting of an individual is so strong that he cannot help but shoot and 'pickle' every bird that comes this his sight.

Julie - the last living bird of Nagaland...

Coming back to the bird. Last I saw this bird was about decade and a half back in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary while I was posted in Siliguri. I desired to see this bird again but considering that it is not a common sight where I went birdwatching - I never ever came across this bird for last 15 years. Now I sighted it last month in Assam and took some great pictures of the bird in wild so here I am sitting down and writing this article. 

The bird is about 105 cm and that is a big bird. I remember the sound it makes flying - woosh - woosh with each flap of its wings carrying almost three and a half kg bird elegantly flying from one tree to another or crossing a valley. The distribution covers parts of Indian sub-continent and Burma, down to Thailand and Malaysia and East till Laos, Vietnam. It is non-migratory but require large tracts of evergreen forests upto roughly 2000 m. The status of this bird worldwide is Near Threatened (NT)

Naga Warriors and Hornbill feathers...
(Disclaimer: this picture is downloaded from the internet. If you knows whom I should give credits to please mail me)

Till the time the people of Nagaland realise what Ecological disaster they are creating by their hands, the traditions they so fiercely try and protect - God bless the state...

White-browed Piculet - the woodpecker

Let me start with some fun facts about Piculets. They are one of the smallest woodpeckers. By small I mean about 3-4 inches, well that's about as long as an average persons index finger if you know what I mean. These Piculets are found in South America, Africa and Asia. There are about 30 species of these birds worldwide and Indian Subcontinent hosts two of them - the Speckled Piculet and the White-browed Piculet. The fun facts do not end here - these birds do not have the stiff feathers like the woodpeckers so they often perch upright.

The spread of the White-browed Piculet starts East of where I reside so it is not everyday that we come across these birds, infact let the truth be told that this sighting that I had last (that is yesterday) was the second in my life. The first time over it was in Sikkim with a great gang of birders, Mr Narbir, Mrs Rima and Mrs Alpana that we sighted this little bird - the problem was that it did not give us a fulfilling moment to stare and appreciate the bird. Yesterday turned out to be different, Not that the sighting was too great but in-between its hops from one tree to another it afforded us good looks and inspite of thick undergrowth gave a few shots that I consider good. The shots are shot at very high ISO @3200 and also agressively corpped so do take it with a pinch of salt when I say - good shots. 

Okay -first things first - it has not lost its tail - it is like this only...

Still wondering about it's tail? well those few small black feathers are all it's tail it has...

To find the bird you have to be in some bamboo thickets preferably in vicinity of fairly good (aka dense) broadleaved evergreen and mixed deciduous forest. Bamboo near water is a definate preference. The range of this small bird is surprisingly large with it starting in the Himalays and moving on to the Laos - Veitnam in the east and almost till Thailand in the South. 

The range of the bird...

Bird hunting - the piculet...

Since their primary food is ants and bark beetles you will most probably hear them before you see them - hear as in pecking wood and bamboo in search of insects or laughing out in a rapid succession like a kid. The audio embedded will give some idea as to what I am trying to say...

...till thou sit right... Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch

Not an uncommon bird - but a beautiful one nonetheless. From my last birding visit - I saw this bird but every bird is associated to a pose - a characteristic that defines that bird and the bird family. I clicked a picture of this nuthatch that decided to give us some good photo-opportunities - but it refused to do that classic / characteristic sitting pose.

Chestnut-vented Nuthatch (Sita cinnamoventris)

We were out birding and were busy clicking a pair of Pygmy woodpeckers on a tree. The birds were so obliging that 100 odd photographs down the lane we were still in want for more. Suddenly out of nowhere - as if to say - Hey man there are others waiting in line - came a nuthatch on the same tree. Of-course it was there - the light was right, not too harsh, not too subtle and I knew I am going to enjoy this bird too. There I let go another hundred shots - just praying that the bird as beautiful as this does not get annoyed due lack of attention. All was well - but there was this nagging bit troubling me in the back of my mind - the bird refused to give that characteristic post that everyone so relates to Nuthatches, the one with the head cocked up and body half hanging from the tree trunk. The bird - as if to say - man, you cannot have everything in life jumped and disappeared at a distance. I prayed and as an answer to my prayer perhaps - a speck - my beloved Nuthatch came flying back to the same tree - the same characteristic flight of the nuthatch. This time the visit was short but the bird gave its characteristic pose before flying off finally and I turned my camera off with a smile on my face and moved on to continue the hunt for more birds for the day.

...so thou sit the way you should... I shall leave you alone.

...and that's the characteristic pose that I was talking about...

The range of the bird - primarily the Himalayas and some more...

Trip report - Birding in Khonoma 08 Jan 2017

The New Year sneaked upon me as I was snoring away - dog tired from my daily chores of a job that can really tire you off when (when 😅) it strikes you. The only birding the first week was roaming around a camera around my neck and walking around in circles in the resort where I was holed up. I thought to myself - this is not what I signed up for when I came to this beautiful state of Nagaland. So the decision was made - come what may - I am off birding the first weekend that comes my way. The weekend ended up with twists and turns that are signature of Alfred Hitchcock's novels. One day I was free, next day some errands came my way and the errands had conditions of ifs and buts attached. As the weekend approached and I shoved the doubts and the errands out of my way and with only two days to go Cirrus clouds lined the sky. To me - who has lived the life of an aviator - the signs were not good. Cirrus is a sign of bad weather to come. The bad weather struck the next day - not bad in very bad sense but - bad enough to declare it a non-birding day had it persisted. Lucky for me the Saturday turned out to be bright and sunny raising the hopes sky high yet again. As I walked to the door and picked up the Newspaper - some faction opposing Municipality elections in Nagaland declared a Bandh (strike). Oh! as if that was bad enough, they had openly declared they will burn down the vehicles plying on the road and as if that was not bad enough - the police declared the district of Kohima 'sensitive'. Only silver lining - the Newspaper also declared that the Bandh was to be called off by 1530, leaving an hour of sunlight for our 2 and half an hour journey.

One of the most common companion of the trip and the bird that kept the distance - but I was able to shoot - Grey Sibia

All this aside - a birder has to do what he has to do - and that was to simply do what I had decided to do. Another good thing that came my way was that, son of a good friend of mine who was posted in Army in Dimapur decided to come along. He was there at sharp 1:30, we had our lunch and whiled away our time to let the clock strike 3:30. Dot, at the strike of the clock we were on out way. The road could neither be termed as good nor bad. The traffic was light considering the country now has run out of roads... The road was good in stretches with the next stretch with pot-holes to remind you that - don't take life so easy.

The total distance to Khonoma from the Niathu Resorts where I was holed up was 72 km. We took exactly two and half an hours travel with one hour before sunset and next half hour of receding light and finally an hour of darkness. We saw an odd car on the road to give us company but considering that we had been advised by so many people to be careful - that the last hour was discomforting. There were no sightings along the road of any kind of birds or bird sounds. Inspite of dropping temperatures we kept the car windows down - not to miss any bird sound that may give us clue of bird life.

There were two things that I am proud of having tied up before setting course to Khonoma, the first one being - contacted the only and the best bird guide possible. Mr Angulie Meyase is the only birdwatcher and a guide in the entire state. Second was that I booked the accommodation in only Hotel - the Dovopie Inn. All the details will figure out in the end of the write up.

During the drive there were turns in the road to Khonoma that - had I missed would have made our reaching the place a pain - but being constantly in touch with Mr Angulie helped and we reached the Inn, had ordered a cup of tea each and went on the small terrace they had to try our hands on the night photography in the crystal clear skies of the mountains. The skies were clear and the chill soon froze the tip of my fingers and I decided to head back in the room with a heater... The second reason was that I did not have a tripod and the effort was futile in any case. We had a light dinner and even if my buddy did not tell me - I am sure I was snoring in a few minutes.

We got up early and as we had breakfast - bread toasts, jam, butter and a cup of tea, Mr Angulie was there at the reception waiting for us. We packed up and set course under the guidance of our birder guide.

The experience was so pleasant that I personally was overwhelmed by the birds that were present all around us. The sounds were all around us and it just took me a few minutes to realise that the sounds were only the half truth of birdwatching in Khonoma. The birds - though omnipresent just did not like to show themselves. it was as if the fear of hunting in the rest of the state was ingrained in the DNA and man seemed the eternal devil here. We went to so many spots and places - basically all around the few valleys, climbed them and went around and the birds were as shy as expected to be. They hopped from bush to bush - and those who did not do so by their nature kept their distance from us - the men. The previous night when I had met our guide (now referred to as a friend 😀), I had given a list of birds that I had wished from Khonoma and one of the first one I had desired was the 'Bamboo Patridge' and we were taken through a path that generally produced the birds in the early morning and the evenings. We drove slowly and carefully trying peer at every movement, every sound, every bush. After fifteen - twenty odd minutes of the drive, the path was coming to the end and there were not partridges in sight. Finally as we were about to join the main road and we sighted them. The light was fairly poor and there were four of them. Though I just about got a single record shot - the sight was one to behold. The first lifer great and memorable sight - it was only a sighting for a few seconds and then they faded away as I stopped the car at an angle to get some shots.

See the birds in Khonoma are distributed at the various heights, and sweet spots, That included the blooming trees, streams, the bushes and likewise. Our bird guide knew all these places and we walked, drove and climbed and did what we could. There were birds that I saw, heard and glimpsed. I recorded and then there were birds that I did not record as I got neither a good sighting nor a record shot but they are there and I am going to get them in another few months to come. We drove, walked and climbed and went around in circles for a total of nine and a half hours. The distance I covered that day was roughly 10 km, 5 odd by car and rest by foot. The 5 odd km by foot seemed far more due to the undulating ground and steep climbs. We waited wherever we saw hunting parties and other interesting birds. All in all the record was 36 birds (add to it about 8 to 9 birds that I did not record due to unsatisfactory sightings and 2 unidentified birds) This number will change as I discover IDs of some birds in my Photo records. The list of birds is appended at the end of this report.

Bamboo Partridges - this is the only sighting of the birds that we got

Black-throated Thrush

Unidentified warbler

Fire-tailed Sunbird

Another unidentified Warbler...

Rusty-fronted Barwing (Actinodura egertoni)

Black Bulbul

Fire-breasted Flowerpecker

Rusty-capped Fulvetta (Schoeniparus dubius)

Grey-cheeked Warbler (Seicercus poliogenys)

Grey-cheeked Warbler

Flavescent Bulbul - okay the bird was in the hiding and that is the best shot I got...

Long-tailed shrike (tricolor)

Bar-throated Siva (Siva strigula)

Rusty-capped Fulvetta (Schoeniparus dubius)

Crested Finchbill (Spizixos canifrons). A beautiful bird and thousands of them all around - unfortunately not ready to sit at eye level.

Stripe-throated Yuhina (Yuhina gularis)

Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula stophiata) also called Orange-gorgeted Flycatcher

Mountain Hawk Eagle (juv) (Nisaetus nipalensis)

Golden-throated Barbet (Megalaima franklinii)

Another picture of the Bar-throated Siva now called Chestnut-tailed Minla (Siva strigula)

Admittedly one of my best birds during the trip - a flock of Chestnut-crowned Warbler (Seicercus castaniceps)

Orange-bellied Leafbird (f) (Chloropsis hardwickii)

Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos cathpharius) I believe that this is the subspecies Pyrrhothorax

ID being attempted

Same bird as above...

This may be Black-throated Prinia - ID being verified

Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)

Self and Mr Angulie Meyase - as we called it a day after almost 9 and half an hour birding without a single bite...

Please pardon me - this is the best I could do to mark my approximate locations.

Now some useful information if you would like to plan a trip:-

• Nearest Airport: Dimapur, two flights daily one Indigo and one Air India.
• Distance from Dimapur: 75 odd km takes roughly 2:30 hours.
• Taxi charges: roughly Rs 8,000/- one way.
• Bird guide charges:  the guides are available starting Rs 800/-, Mr Angulie charges 3,500/- per day and he is worth every penny.
• Dovopie Inn: 2,500/- in season and roughly 2,000/- during off season. Click me to check out Dovipie Inn
• Mr Angulie's car for the day: Rs 4,000/- he has an old Maruti that he uses.
• Best Season to bird: As per Mr Angulie March and April - the months I intend to return...

List of Birds Recorded

Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS)--Parking Lot, Kohima, Nagaland, IN
Jan 8, 2017 6:18 AM - 3:46 PM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 kilometer(s)
36 species

Mountain Bamboo-Partridge (Bambusicola fytchii)  3
Mountain Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus nipalensis)  2
Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)  6
Great Barbet (Psilopogon virens)  10
Golden-throated Barbet (Psilopogon franklinii)  1
Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos cathpharius)  1
Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)  1
Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)  2
Hair-crested Drongo (Spangled Drongo) (Dicrurus hottentottus)  1
Yellow-bellied Fantail (Chelidorhynx hypoxantha)  1
Yellow-cheeked Tit (Machlolophus spilonotus)  3
Crested Finchbill (Spizixos canifrons)  X     Saw it commonly during the trip especially ahead of the village a little higher
Flavescent Bulbul (Pycnonotus flavescens)  2
Himalayan Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)  25
Grey-cheeked Warbler (Seicercus poliogenys)  4
Chestnut-crowned Warbler (Seicercus castaniceps)  5
Black-throated Prinia (Prinia atrogularis)  2
Whiskered Yuhina (Yuhina flavicollis)  3
Stripe-throated Yuhina (Yuhina gularis)  4
Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus)  X     Saw many in flocks of 10 to 20
Rusty-capped Fulvetta (Schoeniparus dubius)  15
Striped Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron virgatum)  2
Grey Sibia (Heterophasia gracilis)  X
Chestnut-tailed Minla (Bar-throated Siva) (Actinodura strigula)  6
Blue Whistling-Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus)  2
Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher (Ficedula strophiata)  1
Blue-fronted Redstart (Phoenicurus frontalis)  1
White-capped Redstart (Phoenicurus leucocephalus)  1
Grey Bushchat (Saxicola ferreus)  5
Black-throated Thrush (Turdus atrogularis)  4
Orange-bellied Leafbird (Orange-bellied Chloropsis) (Chloropsis hardwickii)  1
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ignipectus)  3
Fire-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda)  10
Gould's Sunbird (Aethopyga gouldiae)  3
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)  6
Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)  X     Common