The naked-faced spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae, of the passerines order. It is endemic to the Philippines.
| Naked-faced spiderhunter | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Nectariniidae |
| Genus: | Arachnothera |
| Species: | A. clarae
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| Binomial name | |
| Arachnothera clarae | |
Description and taxonomy
editThe naked-faced spiderhunter is a small to medium-sized passerine bird with a long, downward curved bill. The plumage is predominantly olive green, pale yellow on the abdomen, with olive yellow on the wings and faint streaking on the breast. A characteristic feature is a patch of orange bare skin at the base of the bill, which gives the species its name. Birds in the east-central part of the range have an additional naked patch just above the bill. The species somewhat resembles the orange-tufted spiderhunter, but is larger and darker underneath. The calls include a rough drill, "grrrrrrrrr!".[3]
It is not clear who the bird's scientific species name clarae refers to, but it may be in memory of Clara Blasius (1878-1880), the late sister of August Wilhelm Heinrich Blasius who described the species in 1890.[4]
Subspecies
editFour subspecies are recognized[5]
- Arachnothera clarae luzonensis - found in the Sierra Madre mountain range on the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines.
- Arachnothera clarae philippinensis - occurs on Samar, Leyte and Biliran in the eastern Philippines
- Arachnothera clarae clarae - found in the Davao area of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines
- Arachnothera clarae malindangensis - occurs in the central and western parts of Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.
Ecology and behavior
editThe naked-faced spiderhunter is found in forests and shrublands in low-lying areas and lower mountains. It has a preference for banana flowers.[3]
Its nest has been recorded with main breeding season believed to be from April to June although immature birds have been recorded almost throughout the year. [6]
Habitat and conservation status
editThe species has a wide range and its population is considered stable. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) therefore lists it as Least Concern (LC).
However, deforestation in the Philippines continues throughout the country due to slash and burn farming, mining, illegal logging and habitat conversion.
It is found in multiple protected areas such as Pasonanca Natural Park, Bataan National Park, Mount Banahaw, Mount Kitanglad. Mount Apo and Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park but like all areas in the Philippines, protection is lax and deforestation continues despite this protection on paper. [7]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Arachnothera clarae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22718118A131982953. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718118A131982953.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Blasius, Wilh. (1890). "Die von Herrn Dr. Platen und dessen Gemahlin im Sommer 1889 bei Davao auf Mindanao gesammelten Vögel". Journal für Ornithologie. 38 (2): 148. Bibcode:1890JOrni..38..144B. doi:10.1007/BF02250498. S2CID 19531282.
- ^ a b Cheke, R. and C. Mann (2020). Naked-faced Spiderhunter (Arachnothera clarae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.nafspi1.01
- ^ Jobling, J. A. (2016). Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. Ur del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (red.) (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved at www.hbw.com.
- ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood (2016) The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 2016 http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download, Retrieved August 11, 2016
- ^ Bruce, Murray D. (2021). "Wattled Broadbill (Sarcophanops steerii), version 1.1". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.watbro1.01.1species_shared.bow.project_name. ISSN 2771-3105.
- ^ IUCN (2018-08-09). Arachnothera clarae: BirdLife International: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22718118A131982953 (Report). International Union for Conservation of Nature. doi:10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22718118a131982953.en.
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