Nest pair of Little Spiderhunters - Phuket, Thailand, February 2008

This pair of litte spiderhunters chose to build their nest almost outside the door to our bungalow in Phuket. They are small birds - 16 - 16.5cm overall - and they move fast. Native to SE Asia, they build elongated nests with a side entrance - almost a porch! - that are fixed to the underside of leaves.The male was of course doing all the work, but Mrs LS was always on hand to make sure that he didn't get sloppy. From some of the shots of him leaving the nest, you can see that launch often involves falling upside down with the head turned first, followed by the body.