- Indicator exilis
Identification
14cm. A dark, well-marked honeyguide.
- Distinctive blackish malar stripe
- Darkly outlined loral area
- Dark-tipped white outer tail
- Light greyish-olive breast, paler on flanks and belly and with dark, sharply outlined streaks on flanks
- pachyrhynchus and poensis are paler than the nominate subspecies
Similar species
Lesser Honeyguide is very similar. Least Honeyguide is smaller and has very dark, sharply outlined flank streaks.
Immatures are very similar to immatures of Willcocks's Honeyguide and Dwarf Honeyguide but they have stronger flank streaks and a distinctive malar streaks.
Distribution
Found in tropical western and central Africa.
Widespread but uncommon, precise distribution and status in parts of range unclear. A little-known species.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three subspecies recognized:
- I. e. exilis from Senegal to eastern Central African Republic and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, south to northern Angola
- I. e. poensis on Bioko Island
- I. e. pachyrhynchus from southwestern South Sudan and extreme eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to Rwanda, Burundi, western Kenya, and northwestern Tanzania
- I. e. cerophagus from southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, extreme eastern Angola, and northwestern Zambia
Habitat
Found in primary and secondary forest. Also in old clearings, gallery forest, plantations with trees and forest-shrub-grassland mosaic. Often close to bee nests in the forest.
Occurs from lowlands up to 2400m. On Bioko up to 600m, sometimes higher.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on beeswax. Takes also eggs and larvae of bees, other insects and their eggs, spiders and some fruit.
Several birds may come together at a bees' nest.
Breeding
Breeding season August to March in Liberia, breeding recorded in February and May in Cameroon and January and June in DRC. Shows a flight display and holds a singing territory. A brood parasite, hosts unknown but presumed to be Tinkerbirds and Grey-throated Barbet.
Movements
Probably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 2002. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7: Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334375
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Least Honeyguide. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Least_Honeyguide
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
