Sunbirds of the World – Sunbirds, Flowerpeckers, Spiderhunters and Sugarbirds. Robert A. Cheke and Clive F. Mann. Illustrated by Richard Allen. 2nd Edition 2025, Helm Identification Guide, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025. ISBN: 9781472937438 Hard cover, 608 pages. Price: $90 £75.
Review by Frank Lambert
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First published in 2021, under the title Sunbirds – A Guide to the Sunbirds, Flowerpeckers, Spiderhunters and Sugarbirds of the World, this splendid ‘Helm Identification Guide’ has been extensively updated, following a completely updated taxonomy, and with the inclusion of a superb collection of photos, and larger maps, in colour instead of black-and-white. Relevant information from the numerous papers published in the past twenty years has also been incorporated. Consequently, this book is now colossal, with 608 pages, which compares with 384 in the first edition.
Streaked Spiderhunter, one of the many wonderful members of the family Nectariniidae found in Asia. (photo © Lars Petersson)
The revised classification and order are based on the 4th edition of the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (Dickinson & Christidis 2014) but deviates to some extent. Unfortunately, the order and in particular, the taxonomy, differs from the new, but notably contentious, online world bird list, Avilist 2025, which most birders, scientists, conservation organisations, etc. are likely to refer to in coming years. This is problematic for all bird books published in the last twenty years, since DNA-led taxonomy has revealed so much about the relationships between different birds, and hence redefined species limits for many taxa after such books are published.
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Nevertheless, as eloquently noted in the Introduction, “Whilst molecular data hold sway in most current taxonomic treatments, they have pitfalls. The degrees of divergence that justify the separation of species or subspecies are arbitrary and conclusions based on mitochondrial DNA are unreliable as this DNA is maternally inherited, does not always tally with results based on genomic DNA and can be dangerously misleading”.
In Avilist, the Cinnyris jugularis complex is divided into eight species based on vocalisations, plumage, and mitochondrial DNA studies, but Sunbirds of the World only recognises six of these.
Male Garden Sunbird C. jugularis
(photo Cebu, Philippines © Lars Petersson)
Since the first edition (2001), the two species of sugarbird have been placed in their own family, the Promeropidae, whilst flowerpeckers, sunbirds and spiderhunters are in the family Nectariniidae. Indeed, molecular phylogenetic hypotheses place the sugarbirds as a deep branch of the Passeroidea, either sister to the Modulatricidae (Dapple-throat and allies: 3 species) or sister to the entire Passeroidea radiation, and Avilist has chosen to place them as sister to the modulatricids. Anyway, sugarbirds are apparently more closely related to Dapple-throat and allies than to the flowerpeckers, sunbirds and spiderhunters (all in the family Nectariniidae). Ecologically, however, sugarbirds are much more like sunbirds than Spot-throat Modulatrix stictigula, Dapple-throat Arcanator orostruthus and Grey-chested Babbler Kakamega poliothorax, so it still makes sense to me to have include them in this book.
Gurneys Sugarbird Promerops gurneyi is one of two members of the family Promeropidae (photo Kwazulu-natal © Lars Petersson)
The scale of the project, involving so many taxa, is remarkable, but means that species accounts tend to be shorter and hence less detailed than in many of the other books in the Helm Identification Guide series. The sections on voice, for example, are quite short, relying on onomatopoeic voice descriptions, which are not particularly useful. Moreover, the lack of photos of nests (there are only two such photos, within the introduction, but eight example nest types are also illustrated with line drawings), which would have been useful to have in such a book, is no doubt entirely due to a lack of space. This is a shame, but a necessity given that the book couldn’t realistically be any bigger, and the text font is already relatively small. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book, and I found it very useful to consult after a recent trip to Uganda.
The Introduction starts with a standard section on Style and Layout, and Bird Topography. This if followed by 18 pages with sections on Morphology, with an illustrated in-depth discussion of tongues, Relationships and Taxonomy, Behaviour, Breeding, Distribution and Habitat, Parasites, Mortality and Predators, Physiology, Migration and Other Movements, Economic Importance and Conservation.
A section on tongues in the introduction is well worth reading. It includes line drawings of the tongues of 21 species of sunbird, spiderhunter, flowerpecker and sugarbird.
There is also a section in the Introduction on Possible Undescribed Species, which includes good photos of 'Meratus Flowerpecker' Dicaeum sp. from mountaintops in SE Borneo, and a male of a probable new Anthreptes species photographed in the Rubeho Mountains of Tanzania. It also documents unsubstantiated sightings of two other possible new taxa from Africa.
Seeing the undescribed 'Meratus Flowerpecker' and other recently described passerines in the isolated Meratus Mountains of Indonesian Borneo requires hiking up to around 1,700m and camping in montane forest over a period of several days ( © Frank Lambert).
Following the Introduction, are the excellent colour plates, with paintings by Richard Allen that depict all the species covered in the book in lifelike poses. These plates are well laid-out and pleasing to the eye, with bold illustrations of individual birds that are large enough to clearly see all of the plumage features. For sexually dimorphic species, both sexes are shown, and occasional juveniles or subspecies are also depicted. Succinct summaries of range, habitat and identification is found opposite the plates, but range maps are in the Species Accounts that make up the bulk of the book, to be found on the following 420 pages.
Sunbirds of the World includes 58 plates compared to 48 in 1st edition, using the paintings from the first edition as well as new artwork. This is because more species are included in the second edition. For example, there were two plates of spiderhunters in the first edition but now three. This is because three additional spiderhunter species are now recognised (Palawan and Orange-tufted Spiderhunters split from Little, and Bornean split from Streaky-breasted of Java).
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Palawan (or Pale) Sunbird Arachnothera dilutior is one of two spiderhunters that have been split from the polytypic, and very widespread Little Spiderhunter A. longirostra (photo Palawan © Lars Petersson).
Comparing a subset of the distribution maps with locations on eBird, the great majority of the maps are as accurate as it is possible to get based on published sources. However, in some case entire islands or regions have been shaded when the reality on the ground is clearly different. Whilst it is often impossible to delineate ranges due to lack of data, it is possible to use common sense to increase the accuracy of some maps. For example, the entire island of Flores is shaded as the range of Flores Flowerpecker Dicaeum rhodopygiale, even though it usually only occurs above 800m. It would certainly have been possible and relatively easy to have delimited the areas above 800m on Flores as the range rather than just show it as the entire island. More attention has perhaps been given to measurements than to an accurate portrayal of distribution.
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A small number of the maps seem to rely exclusively on older publications, and could easily have been improved. For example, the distribution map for Grey-throated Sunbird Anthreptes griseigularis could easily have been improved by checking records on eBird, which clearly indicates that it occurs throughout Luzon, rather than being restricted to the north, and is also more widely distributed in Mindanao than indicated. For Olive-crowned Flowerpecker Dicaeum pectorale, a quick check on eBird would have indicated that it occurs on Kofiau Island, which is not mentioned in the book. Thick-billed Flowerpecker Pachyglossa agilis (treated as Modest Flowerpecker D. modestum in this book) occurs much more widely in both Borneo and Sumatra than indicated on its range map, but evident from eBird.
Brown-throated Sunbird Anthreptes malacensis was previously thought to be conspecific with parapatric Grey-throated Sunbird A. griseigularis.
(photo Camiguin Is. © Lars Petersson).​​
Example of a fairly typical Species Account
Onomatopoeic voice descriptions are very brief, and overall very poor, although there is one exception, the recently described Spectacled Flowerpecker Dicaeum dayakorum of Borneo, for which the voice is described in full, based on the original description, and with reference to xeno-canto.org. It is a shame that more detailed descriptions were not done for the second edition, by listening to online sounds rather than simply using published descriptions, which are sometimes incorrect or misleading. I don’t think the inclusion of brief numerical information on, for example, pitch, would have made any real difference to the length of the book.​
The description of the song of Pemba Sunbird is nothing like the recordings that I made of that species. Click this link to listen to them.
The section on food within the species accounts is generally rather brief, often consisting of a simple list of the known plant-foods with a few notes on, for example, the types of invertebrates that the species has been seen consuming. In essence, the family Nectariniidae comprises species that feed on nectar, pollen and to varied extents, on fruit too, whilst invertebrates are also eaten, especially for feeding young. Whilst spiderhunters are reputed to feed extensively on spiders, I have rarely seen them doing this, despite spending years in the Sundaic rainforests where most species occur. They undoubtedly sometimes eat spiders, but they also visit spider webs to collect silk for nest construction and perhaps pick prey out of the webs with their long, fine bills. Many species of flowerpecker, are especially partial to mistletoe berries.
The wonderful Golden-winged Sunbird Drepanorhynchos reichenowi feeding on the flowers of Lion's Ear Leonotis nepetifolia in the mountains of Kenya (photo © Lars Petersson).
As mentioned above, the taxonomy of Avilist has now superseded that used in this book, although I would be tempted to trust some of the taxonomic decisions made in this monograph more than that in Avilist, since it is often based on a more thorough perusal of literature combined with examination of museum specimens. There are numerous differences in taxonomy that could be pointed out here, but I leave it to the reader to explore these for themselves because of the ever-changing species limits that we are presented with on a regular basis.
One example would be that Sunbirds of the World recognises Whyte's Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris whytei as a full species, whereas in Avilist both subspecies (whytei and skye) are treated as being conspecific with Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris stuhlmanni based on genetics. However, Avilist notes that stuhlmanni is a larger, high-montane taxon, and further research is needed, so the inclusion of a full species account seems pragmatic. A second example is the treatment of Dicaeum kuehni as Wakatobi Flowerpecker in the book, which it is still treated as a subspecies of Grey-sided Flowerpecker D. celebicum in Avilist 2025. Whilst this may turn out to be correct, I still think it better to include full species accounts for taxa that might realistically end up being good species in the future.
Eastern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris mediocris is one of a large complex of similar African taxa that have been the subject of significant taxonomic revisions in the last decade (male, Tanzania © Lars Petersson).
Sunbirds of the World contains an excellent selection of photos. In addition to some carefully selected photos in the introduction, each Species Account also includes at least one, sometimes two, photos. For sexually dimorphic species, both sexes are illustrated by photos of live birds, although in a few cases where appropriate photos were not available, such as with Aru Flowerpecker Dicaeum ignicolle, Pink-breasted Flowerpecker D. keiense, and Prigogine’s Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris prigoginei, photographs of museum skins are used, or of birds in the hand (e.g. Rockefeller’s Sunbird C. rockefelleri). For a small number of species, there are three photographs in the species account. Sadly, there are only two photos of nests in the book, although the introductory section entitled Breeding includes line drawings of eight different nest types. Whilst it would have been of great interest to have included photographs of nests, or indeed of eggs perhaps, that would have required a significant amount of extra space, which this monograph did not have the luxury of using.
Whilst I have not mentioned spiderhunters much above, there is one subject that requires mentioning. That is the taxonomic affinities of Kurochkinegramma hypogrammicum, which has recently been treated as a true spiderhunter rather than a sunbird. This is an unusual species, in its own genus, that inhabits the rainforests of the Sunda region northwards to Myanmar and Indochina. Moyle et al. (2011) claimed that genetic data placed this species firmly within the genus Arachnothera, to which all species of spiderhunter belong, but this is disputed because Purple-naped Sunbird has, for example, a different tongue structure and a relatively short bill, is sexually dimorphic, and the male has some iridescent plumage and tufts of elongated feathers at the base of the lower back. Strangely, Avilist 2025 still calls this species Purple-naped Spiderhunter but does not place it in Arachnothera. Of course, the English name of the species is not particularly relevant, but it is worth noting that this is one of the more unusual species within the Sunbirds and Allies.
Magnificent Sunbird Aethopyga magnifica is one of a significant number of recent splits among the sunbirds endemic to the Philippine Islands
(photo Negros © Lars Petersson).​​
Visiting almost anywhere in Africa or subtropical and tropical areas of Asia and Australasia, as well as parts of the Middle East provides birders and naturalists an opportunity to observe species of sunbird, spiderhunter, flowerpecker or sugarbird, even in urban gardens and cities. In many locations, one can encounter good numbers of individuals and a surprising diversity of these alluring species.
Sunbirds of the World is wonderfully illustrated and is an informative book to browse though before any birding trip to areas where these fascinating species can be found. Regional and country field guides often have poorly illustrated sections on these species, with insufficient guidance on identification, so consulting this book can be invaluable before a trip, or indeed afterwards. But this book is not only useful to birders, and I am sure that researchers and conservationists will also find it extremely useful. It is a big upgrade from the first edition, now nearly 25 years old, so even if you have that book, it is well worth replacing it with this updated edition.​
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Searching for Cebu Flowerpecker in a remnant forest patch in late February 2019 as the pandemic enveloped the World . This species, which has not been documented for at least ten years, may well already be extinct. (Cebu Island © Frank Lambert).
Many thanks to Lars Petersson for the use of his fantastic photos. His website can be accessed here
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References mentioned
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AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.
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Lambert, F.R. 1991. Fruit eating by Purple‑naped Sunbirds Hypogramma hypogrammicum in Borneo. Ibis 133: 425‑426.
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Moyle, R. G., S. S. Taylor, C. H. Oliveros, H. C. Lim, C. L. Haines, M. A. Rahman, and F. H. Sheldon 2011. Diversification of an endemic Southeast Asian genus: phylogenetic relationships of the spiderhunters (Nectariniidae: Arachnothera). The Auk 128(4):777–788.