Little Spiderhunter is one of the small and very active birds that is not hard to spot around rural Shimoga - and these are very easy to confuse with regular sunbirds. The plumage meshes so well with the green plants they frequently visit that it is very easy not to spot them at all. But then, these are quite comfortable in our home gardens, collecting nectar or catching spiders, which is partly why they are named as spider hunters!!
Poorna Chandra Tejaswi notes that there are two types of spider hunters in India, but only one can be found in Karnataka. Also, he notes that regular sunbirds of this region are half the size of spider hunters.
Even though you don't need to leave your garden to sight this bird, it will be super hard to find the nests of these - chiefly because they build their nests only under banana leaves. According to Tejaswi, this is the reason why it is called "Balegubbi" in Kannada - Bale means Banana in Kannada - this makes it easier to spot these birds in and around gardens close to fields growing banana.
Scientific name for this bird is Arachnothera longirostra.
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