Editing Flowerpecker (section)

{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
| name = Flowerpeckers
| image = Dicaeum trigonostigma 1.jpg
| image_caption = [[Orange-bellied flowerpecker]] (''Dicaeum trigonostigma'')
| taxon = Dicaeidae
| authority = [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1853
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 
''[[Dicaeum]]''<br/>''[[Prionochilus]]''<br>''[[Pachyglossa]]''
}}

The '''flowerpeckers''' are a [[family (biology)|family]], ''' Dicaeidae''', of [[passerine]] birds. The family comprises three genera, ''[[Dicaeum]]'', ''[[Prionochilus]]'' and ''[[Pachyglossa]]'', with 56 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, [[Painted berrypecker|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 wide range 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.<ref name = "HBW"/>
[[File:Pale-billed Flowerpecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos) with a Muntingia calabura (Singapur cherry) fruit W IMG 8784.jpg|thumb|left|210px|[[Pale-billed flowerpecker]] feeding on ''[[Muntingia calabura]]'']]
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]]. Flowerpeckers 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.<ref name = "HBW">{{ cite book | last1=Cheke | first1=R.A. | last2=Mann | first2=C.F. | year=2008 | chapter=Family Dicaeidae (Flowerpeckers) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Christie | editor3-first=D.A. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-96553-45-3 | pages=350-389 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0013unse/page/350/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}</ref> They are often dull in colour, although in several species the males have brightly patterned crimson or glossy-black [[plumage]]. 
[[File:FlowerpeckerTongue.svg|thumb|left|210px|The tongue tip is feathery in many species such as ''Dicaeum nigrilore''<ref>Rand, Austin (1961) The tongue and nest of certain flowerpeckers (aves:dicaeidae). Fiediana Zoology 39:53 [https://archive.org/details/tonguenestofcert3953rand scanned text]</ref>]]
Nectar forms part of the diet, although they also take berries, spiders and insects.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Lindsey, Terence|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 205–208|isbn= 1-85391-186-0}}</ref> Mistletoes of 21 species in 12 genera have been found to be part of the diet of flowerpeckers, 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 flock]]s with sunbirds and [[white-eye]]s, as well as other species of flowerpecker.

The breeding biology of the flowerpeckers has been little studied.<ref name = "HBW"/> In the species where data has been collected they apparently form monogamous pairs for breeding, but the division of labour varies; in [[scarlet-breasted flowerpecker]]s 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 1–4 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.

The two genera in the family are separated on the basis of the length of the outermost primary which is elongated in ''Prionochilus'' and reduced in most ''Dicaeum'' species although ''[[Dicaeum melanozanthum|D. melanozanthum]]'' is an exception with an elongated outer primary. Molecular phylogeny studies, however, suggest that some ''Dicaeum'' are closer to species traditionally in ''Prionochilus'' and that generic placements across the family may need to be revised.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.06.014|pmid=19576993|title=Phylogenetic relationships of flowerpeckers (Aves: Dicaeidae): Novel insights into the evolution of a tropical passerine clade|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=53|issue=3|pages=613–9|year=2009|last1=Nyári|first1=Árpád S.|last2=Peterson|first2=A. Townsend|last3=Rice|first3=Nathan H.|last4=Moyle|first4=Robert G.|hdl=1808/6569|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

The majority of flowerpeckers are resilient in their habits and are not [[threatened]] by human activities.<ref name = "HBW"/> Five species are considered to be near threatened by the [[IUCN]], two are listed as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] and one, the [[Cebu flowerpecker]], is listed as [[critically endangered]]. The status of the enigmatic [[spectacled flowerpecker]] is unknown.  [[Habitat loss]] is the cause of the declines of these species.