Malaysian honeyguide

Indicator archipelagicus

TAXONOMY

Indicator archipelagicus Temminck, 1832.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Sunda honeyguide; French: Indicateur archipélagique; German: Malaien-Honiganzeiger; Spanish: Indicador Malayo.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

2.5 in (16 cm). Plumage brownish gray with small, bright yellow shoulder patch, underparts are white, and breast light gray. Eyes and bill are brown, legs and feet black. Female lacks yellow shoulder patch.

DISTRIBUTION

Malaysian Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.

HABITAT

Tropical rainforest from sea level to 3,280 ft (1,000 m) above sea level.

BEHAVIOR

Calls with harsh, catlike "miaow," followed by a churring "miaow-krrruuu" or "miao-miao-krruuu," rising in pitch.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Often seen near nests of Asian honeybees (Apis dorsata and A. florea). Eats beeswax, bee larvae, and adults of those species and other insects. Some individuals sing in presence of humans, but none exhibits guiding behavior.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Little is known other than the voice of the singing male, although presumed to be brood parasites like other honeyguide species. Breeding seasons thought to be February into May in Malaya, during August in Thailand, May into June in Sumatra, and from January into March in Borneo.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Listed as Near Threatened due to deforestation.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.