Purple-rumped Sunbird
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| Purple-rumped Sunbird | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Nectarinia_purple_sunbird.JPG male | ||||||||||||||
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| Nectarinia zeylonica (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The Purple-rumped Sunbird, Nectarinia zeylonica, is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.
Purple-rumped Sunbird is a common resident breeder in tropical southern Asia in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Two to three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. This species is found in a variety of habitats with trees, including scrub and cultivation.
Purple-rumped Sunbirds are tiny, only 10cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.
The adult male has a maroon breast-band, sides of the head and back. The throat and rump are bright purple, and the underparts are yellow flanked with white. There is a bright green shoulder patch. The female and juvenile are duller with an olive-green back, brown wings and yellowish breast. The call is ptsiee ptsit, ptsiee ptsswit.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6