Dicaeidae – Flowerpeckers

The Dicaeidae (Flowerpeckers) are a family of passerines. It comprises three genera, Dicaeum, Prionochilus and Pachyglossa, with 58 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarged sunbird family Nectariniidae. The berrypeckers of the family Melanocharitidae and the painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, were once lumped into this family as well. The family is distributed through tropical southern Asia and Australasia from India east to the Philippines and south to Australia.

The family has a wide range occupying a variety of environments from sea level to montane habitats. Some species, such as the Mistletoebird of Australia, are recorded as being highly nomadic over parts of their range.

There is little variation in structure between species in the family although many have distinctive and colourful plumage. Flowerpeckers are stout birds, with short necks and legs. These are small birds ranging from the 10-cm, 5.7-gram Pygmy Flowerpecker to the 18-cm, 12-gram Mottled Flowerpecker. They all have short tails, short thick curved bills and tubular tongues. The latter features reflect the importance of nectar in the diet of many species. They also have digestive systems that have evolved to deal efficiently with mistletoe berries.

Blue-cheeked Flowerpecker Dicaeum maugei

Black-fronted Flowerpecker Dicaeum igniferum

They are often dull in colour, although in several species the males have brightly patterned crimson or glossy-black plumage. Nectar forms a large part of the diet, although they also take berries, spiders and insects. In 21 species in 12 genera Mistletoe has been found to be part of the diet, and it is thought that all species have adaptations to eat these berries and dispose of them quickly. Flowerpeckers may occur in mixed-species feeding flocks with sunbirds and white-eyes, as well as other species of flowerpecker.

Ashy Flowerpecker Dicaeum vulneratum

The breeding biology of the flowerpeckers has been little studied. In the species where data has been collected, they apparently form monogamous pairs for breeding, but the division of labour varies; in Scarlet-breasted Flowerpeckers both parents participate in all aspects of nest building, incubation and chick rearing, but in the Mistletoebird the female undertakes the first two tasks alone. Flowerpeckers lay one to four eggs, typically in a purse-like nest of plant fibres, suspended from a small tree or shrub. Recorded incubation times are scarce, but range from 10–12 days, with fledging occurring after 15 days.

Two genera in the family were separated on the basis of the length of the outermost primary which is elongated in Prionochilus and reduced in most Dicaeum species although there are exceptions with an elongated outer primaries. Molecular phylogeny studies, however, recently suggested that some Dicaeum were closer to species traditionally in Prionochilus and that generic placements across the family may needed to be revised. This led to the establishment of the third genus, Pachyglossa mostly moved from the latter genus.

The majority of flowerpeckers are resilient in their habits and are not threatened by human activities. Five species are considered to be near threatened by the IUCN, two are listed as vulnerable and one, the Cebu Flowerpecker, is listed as critically endangered. The status of the enigmatic Spectacled Flowerpecker is unknown. Habitat loss is the prime cause of the declines.