Indicator maculatus
The Spotted Honeyguide (Indicator maculatus) is a medium-sized avian marvel, measuring approximately 17-19 cm (6.7-7.5 inches) in length. Its plumage is a blend of olive-green upperparts, a dusky head with a distinctive white supercilium, and yellowish underparts heavily marked with dark spots across the breast and belly, which are key identification features. In flight, its white outer tail feathers flash prominently. There is minimal sexual dimorphism, with males and females appearing large...
This species primarily inhabits tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, dense woodlands, and occasionally old secondary growth, typically found at elevations ranging from sea level up to 1,800 meters.
Its diet primarily consists of insects, with a strong specialization on bees and wasps, including their larvae, pupae, and wax, which it can digest thanks to specialized gut bacteria. It obtains these by raiding insect nests in trees.
The Spotted Honeyguide is a largely solitary and secretive bird, often detected by its distinctive calls rather than sight. It is an obligate brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of other hole-nesting birds, particularly barbets and woodpeckers, and possibly rollers. The hatchlings are bo...
The Spotted Honeyguide has a wide but somewhat disjunct distribution across West and Central Africa. Its range stretches from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ghana in West Africa, eastward through Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo. Further south, populations are fo...
Least Concern
- The Spotted Honeyguide is an obligate brood parasite, meaning it lays its eggs exclusively in the nests of other bird species, typically barbets and woodpeckers. - Its chicks are born with a unique adaptation: sharp, temporary hooks on their beaks, which they use to kill the host's chicks and u...