Animalia Life
Indicator archipelagicus
TAXONOMY
Indicator archipelagicus Temminck, 1832.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Sunda honeyguide; French: Indicateur archipйlagique;
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.