Yellow-eared Spiderhunter

Arachnothera chrysogenys

Family: Spiderhunters and Sunbirds · Status: Former resident and very rare visitor · Size: 18 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Resident from the Thai-Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

Identification

Adult has olive-green upperparts with golden suffusion on the mantle and flight feathers, yellow underparts with indistinct dark breast streaks, narrow incomplete yellow eyering, and a distinctive yellow drooping ear patch. Juvenile resembles adult but lacks breast streaks. Large yellow ear patch and bright yellow underparts separate it from both Little Spiderhunter and Thick-billed Spiderhunter, which have greyer breasts and lack the ear patch.

Habitat

Forest, forest edge and secondary growth.

Behaviour

Frequents the forest canopy, foraging singly or sometimes in pairs; occasionally descends to feed on flowering shrubs.