Purple-rumped Sunbird

Fig. This is the female and male purple-rumped sunbird

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Species Nectarinia zeylonica

Family Nectarinidae

Size About 10 cm

Purple-rumped Sunbird is a colorful and very active tiny little bird.This bird is endemic to Indian subcontinent and a common resident breeder in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Purple-rumped Sunbirds are smaller in size i.e less than 10 cm long.The male and female looks different.The males have a dark metallic maroon upper side with a blue-green crown which glitter on sunlight. Metallic violet patches are also found around throat and only visible at certain angle.The female has a white throat followed by yellowish breast.The upper side is olive or brownish. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and tubular tongues which are made for nectar feeding. This photograph is taken at Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary , Sambalpur, India.

Sunbird

Fig. This is a purple rumped sunbird

Sunbirds are colourful, attractive small passerine birds. and readily enter gardens where flowering plants are planted to attract them. The sunbirds and spiderhunters belongs to family Nectariniidae. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and northern Australia.The sunbirds have two close relatives, the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to similar nectar-feeding lifestyle.There are more than 100 species of sunbird in 15 genera.Two most common species seen in India are Purple Sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) and Purple-rumped Sunbird (Nectarinia zeylonica).When one sees them feeding nectar on flight can easily be confused it as Humming bird.However we have no Humming birds here in India.Sunbirds are frequent visitors to gardens where flowering plants are present.They also built their nest in backyard gardens .