Little Spiderhunter by Ken _Gilliland
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
Sometimes, I picked bird projects simply because of their "fun" names like Leaf-tossers and Flowerpeckers... Within the Nectariniidae (sunbird) family, there is a type of bird that have caught my attention simply because of that... Spiderhunters. I thought, "What an appropriate avenue to head back into the bird world after doing three sets of spiders!" (Songbird ReMix Spiderhunters should be out towards the end of June 2023).
Spiderhunters are partially nectar drinkers, but when it comes to their protein needs, its spiders and their prey. Apart from eating the obvious (spiders), these birds will actually hover near webs and pick off the caught insects as well-- stealing them from the spiders!
The genus contains thirteen species found in the forests of south and southeastern Asia. They are large representatives of the Sunbird family, with drab plumage and long, strongly curved bills. They feed on both nectar and a range of small arthropods. Spiderhunters also contribute to the ecological balance of their habitats by pollinating plants.
In this Poser Superfly image, I used the most commonly seen of the the family, the "Little Spiderhunter", as well as the colorful European Black Widow. The Little Spiderhunter is endemic to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The male is pictured-- the female is about 10% smaller, has a whiter throat and the lacks orange colored wing tufts.
It is an important pollinator for Durian fruit trees, wild banana/giant white bird of paradise plants and Banana/plantain plants.
Comments (7)
Flint_Hawk
A wonderful bird & fantastic scene!
contedesfees
It pleases me to know that spiders have unbeatable enemies!
Ken _Gilliland
lol
starship64
Wonderful work!
3DClassics123456
Another lesson about birds wild life! I wonder how you can create such animals... Thank you for all your information. When birds are in danger and less and less numerous, it's good to find someone who likes them!
Richardphotos
I just spent nearly one month in the Philippines, but I did not get any photos of birds/spiders. I did see many birds. there is a nest of robins on my storage building, but the mother bird is not feeding her babies, if they are alive
APlusDesign
Love how you made the image with the bird catching some food. Very cool
STEVIEUKWONDER
You are so committed to wildlife. It does you such credit Ken.