Timor Flowerpecker Dicaeum hanieli Scientific name definitions

The Timor Flowerpecker is endemic to Timor, the southernmost large island in the Indonesian archipelago. It is apparently restricted to montane elevations above ca. 800 m, where it inhabits primary and secondary forests, as well as forest edges. Despite being first described in the early 1900s, based upon a male specimen collected by zoologist Curt Berthold Haniel during an expedition to West Timor led by German geologist and paleontologist Johannes Wanner, virtually nothing is known about the species' ecology. As a result, while it is generally believed to be uncommon, birdwatchers visiting Timor have the opportunity to contribute valuable information about its life history.

In the field, males can be easily distinguished from the other two flowerpecker species on the island by its small, blood-red breast patch, whitish or slightly buffy underparts with a short black ventral line, and glossy blue-black upperparts. The female is considerably duller but has a distinctive red rump patch.

This species shares a dependence on highland forests with two former conspecifics: the Flores Flowerpecker (Dicaeum rhodopygiale) and the Javan Flowerpecker (Dicaeum sanguinolentum). In contrast, a third taxon, the Sumba Flowerpecker (Dicaeum wilhelminae), occurs at all elevations across the neighboring island of Sumba. All four species were previously classified together under the name Blood-breasted Flowerpecker.