Arachnothera longirostra

Bukit Fraser, Malaysia

Bukit Fraser is probably my favourite destination in Malaysia. Bukit Fraser or Fraser's Hill is a hill resort located on the Titiwangsa Ridge in the Raub District of Pahang, Malaysia. It is about 100 km, about a two hour drive, from the capital Kuala Lumpur and 400 km away from Singapore in the south. Known locally as Bukit Fraser, this quaint holiday retreat is popular for its nature activities and cool weather. It is one of the last hill stations of Malaysia carrying an imprint of its former British colonial masters very similar to some of the well known hill stations (winter capitals) of India.

From a birding perspective Bukit Fraser has also been very kind to me. Each time I have visited I have been blessed with numerous sightings and at very close proximity too. The mountainous terrain with altitude ranges between 320 m (1,050 ft) and 1,460 m (4,790 ft) above sea level is home to diverse species and if one has the patience there are innumerable moments one can document. Around 44% of the terrain area is ranked as steep, while flat areas make up 8% of the overall land area. Fraser's Hill's virgin forest coverage is around 92% of the overall land area, with only 1.5% of the area used for a town. 6.5% of the forest area has been cleared for secondary vegetation. Ten river systems in Malaysia originate in Fraser's Hill, including Sungai Selangor, a major water source for the district of Selangor, & Sungai Teranum, which forms a major river system in eastern Pahang. The geology of the area is granite, which forms sandy, permeable soil and is easily eroded.

Bukit Fraser

Fraser’s Hill has its roots in the 1890s, when Scottish prospector Louis James Fraser opened up a tin mining community known as Pamah Lebar. Mining activity there was short lived as the tin ore depleted by 1913. This led many miners and farmers to abandon the area and Fraser reportedly disappeared in 1910, but research in 2019 concluded that he retired from his position and returned to Great Britain in 1910. He died in 1916 while travelling in Austria-Hungary. An attempt in 1917 by Charles James Ferguson-Davie, the then bishop of Singapore, to locate Fraser in the area failed. While he searched for Fraser, Ferguson -Davie recognized the area's potential as a suitable location to set up a hill station and provided his suggestions to the high commissioner and chief secretary of the Federated Malay States. Its cool climate made Pamah Lebar an ideal retreat to escape from the usually hot climate in Malaysia and construction began in October 1919 to convert the mine area into a resort. The site was renamed Fraser's Hill and opened to visitors in 1922 and the erstwhile location of Fraser’s tin mine became the location of its golf course.

Subsequent development occurred in the 1970s in response to increased tourism activity. While this provided room for more visitors, it had an impact on the environment including deforestation and water pollution prompting a halt to further developments in April 2010. More species faced extinction and the water pollution affected the lives of the Orang Asli (first people) and residents in nearby villages. These issues led to the Pahang state government ruling out further development in the virgin forest at Fraser's Hill on 13 April 2010.

Fraser's Hill is known for its vast biodiversity which attracts scientists and researchers. In recent years, it has seen an increase in tourist activities including hiking, cycling, golfing, archery, riding, tennis, swimming and squash. With its tiny population of 1,000, as recorded in 2013, it is one of Malaysia’s most unexpectedly satisfying short-stay destinations. Navigating up the tight twists and turns of the road to this hill station is a stimulating experience – in fact the uphill road is so narrow that the final eight kilometre stretch is limited to one-way traffic at any time. The direction changes every hour; odd hours are for ascending the hill, while even hours have been denoted for descending traffic. With a majority of its buildings featuring mock Tudor-style architecture, Fraser’s Hill hasn’t changed much from its days as a British colonial hill resort. Besides the essential photo stop opportunity at Fraser’s Clocktower, a hard-to-miss clock tower which stands in the old English village square, you can head on down to Allen’s Water, a former reservoir turned into a boating and fishing attraction.

Read about some of the birds I have photographed at Bukit Fraser.

Akin to a tiny Scottish hamlet, Fraser’s Hill is one of Malaysia’s premier locations for bird-watching. Avid bird watchers can take advantage of the fact that Fraser’s is home to over 250 species of birds – the Fraser’s Hill Development Corporation and the World Wildlife Fund both run classes and excursions to see the flora and wildlife of the hill station. What's more, the Fraser’s Hill International Bird Race – a contest to document the vast variety of birdlife on the mountainside – is typically held here in June. There are eight nature walk trails available ranging from easy to hard. For example the Maxwell Trail – a short and easy hike or the six-kilometre Pine Tree Trail – a longer trail that takes one past some dramatic views and ends near the 18 foot Jeriau Waterfall located about five kilometres from the town centre. Fraser’s also plays host to the Royal Fraser’s Hill Golf Course – a nine-hole green that is one of Malaysia’s oldest. There’s also a paddock at the eastern edge of the course where one can saddle up for a horse riding session.

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Little Spiderhunter

The Little Spiderhunter (Arachnothera longirostra) is a species of long-billed nectar-feeding bird in the family Nectariniidae found in the moist forests of South and Southeast Asia. Unlike typical sunbirds, males and females are very similar in plumage. They are usually seen in ones or twos and are most often found near flowering plants where they obtain nectar.

These birds (two of them are found in India - the Little Spiderhunter & the Streaked Spiderhunter) were very high on my list of birds to see - but unfortunately, they are absent from the local areas of birding around my home and have therefore remained elusive. But then Bukit Fraser was kind and I caught a break when both the spiderhunters came in close allowing for some beautiful photographs.

The distinctive long beak sets it apart from other sunbirds. The sexes are similar, except that the female has a paler base on the lower mandible as compared to the male who has an all black beak. They are found near their favourite nectar bearing trees, often species of wild Musaceae or flowers in gardens. They have a buzzy zick-zick call that is made regularly when disturbed or when foraging. Additionally, the song is series of rapid chipping notes and these can go on for long periods.

The diet and the feeding of these birds require a special mention - their bills are long and almost twice the length of the head. The tongue forms a complete tube for most of the length of the beak - this beak-tube and the tongue is like an injection sucking nectar from the base of the flowers. Now, this is a wonderful and important way of pollination. These birds are also known as Nectar Robbers - they use the long bill and insert them from the side of the flowers to avoid being dabbed by the pollen - this tactic is called Nectar Robbing. The birds will eat spiders and are capable of extracting spiders from the centre of their webs - and that is not a small feat - the feat that earns them their name - Spiderhunters.

The genus name Arachnothera means "spider hunter" and the species epithet refers to the long beak. About thirteen geographic races are recognized. The nominate race longirostra (Latham, 1790) is found in southwestern India, central and northeastern India, foothills of the Himalayas and into Thailand and Yunnan. Race sordida (La Touche, 1921) is found in southern China and northeastern Thailand. Race pallida (Delacour, 1932) is found in eastern Thailand and C & S Indochina. Two species from the Philippines, the orange-tufted and the pale spiderhunter were formerly considered subspecies. Several other island forms are noted:

• cinereicollis (Vieillot, 1819) - south of the Isthmus of Kra to Sumatra and satellite islands

• zarhina (Oberholser, 1912) - Banyak Is, off W Sumatra.

• niasensis (van Oort, 1910) - Nias I, off W Sumatra.

• rothschildi (van Oort, 1910) - N Natuna Islands

• atita (Oberholser, 1932) - S Natuna Islands

• buettikoferi (van Oort, 1910) - Borneo.

• prillwitzi (Hartert, 1901) - Java (including Madura I) and Bali

• randi (Salomonsen, 1953) - Basilan (off W Mindanao).

The species is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Within India, there are disjunct populations in the Eastern Ghats from Lamasinghi, Visakhapatnam and parts of Orissa) and the Western Ghats apart from the main distribution in north-east India that extends into Southeast Asia. A record from the Nicobar Islands is considered doubtful.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, & subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Usually found below the canopy, they are also found in gardens, attracted especially by flowers that yield nectar. Although they are more often seen in secondary forests or in clearings and appear to be tolerant of human activities, they have become extinct in some forest fragments. In Singapore they have gone locally extinct within the botanical garden.

The breeding season in northeastern India is March to September but mainly May to August. In southern India it breeds from December to August. Two eggs are the usual clutch. The nest is a compact cup attached under a leaf of banana or similar broad leaved plant. The nest is suspended from the underside of the leaf using 150 or so "pop-rivets" of cobwebs and vegetable fibre, a unique method of using spider silk for animal architecture.

It is suspected that Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo and violet cuckoo are brood parasites on this species in India.

In Sarawak, the Kayan, Kenyah and Punan people consider it a bird of good omen and when they are out collecting camphor, the men would wait until they heard the sit call of one of these spiderhunters.

The Little Spiderhunter is not globally threatened (Least Concern) but is seeing strong declines. It is locally common in India in the Western Ghats and the North East. It is very scarce and local in South East Nepal, & uncommon in Bhutan. It is locally common in Bangladesh, common in Tenasserim, but rare elsewhere in Myanmar, generally common in Thailand except in the East, locally common in S Laos, and common in Peninsular Malaysia; not uncommon on Sumatra, where density of up to c. 165 birds/km² in the Harapan Rainforest Ecosystem Restoration Concession; common on Borneo. Occurs in numerous protected areas, examples of which are Nonggang National Nature Reserve, in SE China, Kaeng Krachan National Park and Khao Pra Bang Wildlife Sanctuary, in Thailand , Cat Tien National Park, in Vietnam, Way Kambas National Park, on Sumatra, Gunung Gede-Pangrango National Park, on Java and Bali, and Danum Valley Conservation Area and Tanjung Puting National Park, on Borneo.

The following gallery is of the Little Spiderhunter observed & photographed near the main square at Bukit Fraser. The photos are from various trips I have made to this quaint little village town.

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