The yellow-rumped honeyguide (''Indicator xanthonotus'') is a sparrow-sized bird in the

honeyguide Honeyguides ( family Indicatoridae) are near passerine birds in the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus '' Prodotiscus'' ...

family that is found in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, mainly in montane forests along the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

. They are very

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

-like but the feet are strong and

zygodactyl In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger". Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is use ...

, with two toes facing forward and two backward. They perch on

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey t ...

s and feed on wax. Males tend to be

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

and stay near honeycombs while females and juveniles forage widely. They are

brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its ow ...

s, laying their eggs in the nests of tree-hole breeders, possibly barbets.

Description

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide Pabyuk-Naitam Sikkim March 2019

The yellow-rumped honeyguide is sparrow sized and has a stout finch-like bill. The plumage is largely dusky olive and the forehead and lores are orange while the upper plumage. There is a streaked appearance to the wing feathers. The rump is deep orange and extends into the back grading to sulphur yellow. The chin and throat are yellowish while the lower plumage is pale grey with dark streaks. The bill is yellow but dark towards the tip. Females have less extensive yellow on the face and the rump is yellow and lacks the orange.

Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British civil servant, political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hu ...

described the subspecies ''radcliffi'' (after Colonel E. Delmé-Radcliffe) based on specimens from

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

but no specimens or information from the region have subsequently been obtained putting it in some doubt. The species was described by

Blyth Blyth may refer to: People * Blyth (surname) * Blythe (given name) Places Australia * Blyth, South Australia, a small town Canada * Blyth, Ontario, a village United Kingdom * Blyth, Northumberland, a town ** Blyth Valley (UK Parliament ...

based on specimens from near

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Ne ...

. Ripley described specimens from the Naga Hills as subspecies ''fulvus'' (not always recognized), said to be smaller and darker, with the streaking on the abdomen reduced and the yellow on the forehead restricted to the anterior. This population may be identical to the nominate of the eastern Himalayas. They have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. The wing is long and pointed.

Behaviour and ecology

A chipping call is produced in flight and when agitated. The flight is straight (may sometimes be undulating) and direct, sometimes in flocks of 20 to 30 birds. At deserted honeycombs, the bird clings tight and presses its tail on the surface of the comb. They feed mainly on the foundation wax of ''

Apis laboriosa ''Apis laboriosa'', the Himalayan giant honey bee, is the world’s largest honey bee; single adults can measure up to in length. Before 1980, ''Apis laboriosa'' was considered to be a subspecies of the widespread ''Apis dorsata'', the giant h ...

'' that attach the comb to rocks. They feed on active beehives without disturbing the bees much. They have been observed to make use of the attacks of ''

Vespa mandarinia The Asian giant hornet (''Vespa mandarinia'') or northern giant hornet, including the color form referred to as the Japanese giant hornet, is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Sout ...

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Description

Behaviour and ecology

Distribution and habitat

References

External links