Crimson-backed Sunbird
Leptocoma minima
Stumpy, short-tailed sunbird of the Western Ghats’ foothill forests. Male has a glossy dark green cap, a red back and chest, a dark purplish throat, and an off-white belly. As in most sunbirds, the female is comparatively drab, with brown upperparts, yellow-washed underparts, and a bright red rump. Listen for this species’ high tinkling song and sharp “chik” notes, often given while foraging.
Identification
Crimson-backed sunbirds are tiny, even by sunbird standards, and are only 8 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations for nectar feeding.<p>The adult male is velvety red on the mantle and wing coverts and there is a broad red breast band. The crown is shiny green and there are pink-violet patches on the throat and rump. The underside from the breast below is yellowish. There is a black edge to the bib that separates the yellow of the underside. The larger purple-rumped sunbird can appear very similar but this sunbird has a darker maroon on the upper side while the flanks and vent are whitish. The eclipse plumage (non-breeding) of the male has more olive on the head and velvet red is restricted to the lower mantle and wing coverts. The female is olive-brown but the rump is distinctly red. They are attracted to flower-rich gardens at the edges of forests or plantations.<p>The calls include short chik calls and longer chee-chee-which-chee.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Leptocoma minima
- Authority
- (Sykes, 1832)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Leptocoma
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The crimson-backed sunbird is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Ghats of India. The peak nesting season is December to March, but has been known to nest in nearly all months of the year in the southern Western Ghats. Two eggs are laid in a suspended nest on a thin drooping branch of low tree, fern frond or shrub. Both the male and female take part in nest building with the interior mainly built by the female. The eggs are mainly incubated by the female but males may involve themselves in feeding the young. The incubation period is about 18–19 days.<p>These birds are important pollinators of some plant species.<p>Males establish and defend feeding territories on flower bearing shrubs and trees. Plants such as Helixanthera intermedia which had a lot of nectar were defended more vigorously. Being small birds they may be killed by attack from insects like praying mantises too.<p>Although resident in many areas, they may make altitudinal movements in response to rains. In some areas they move to the foothills during the monsoons and move to the higher regions after the rains.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Persian Wheatear
Oenanthe chrysopygia
A medium-sized wheatear, gray-brown overall with a reddish tail base. Sexes similar. Very similar to female Kurdish Wheatear; separated by whitish throat, pale buff undertail, and reddish ear patch contrasting with gray neck. Breeds on open, rocky mountain sides. Winters in mountainous arid habitats. Song consists of short buzzy warbled phrases.
Luzon Striped-Babbler
Zosterornis striatus
A fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest and overgrown disturbed areas on Luzon. Rufous-brown on the wings, back, and tail, with a gray head, heavily-streaked pale underparts, and a black face and moustache stripe. Often found in mixed-species flocks. Somewhat similar to Stripe-sided and Long-billed Rhabdornises, but smaller, with a white eye-ring rather than a black band through the eye. Voice includes a loud rattling trill and various quiet chips and squeals.
Swainson's Sparrow
Passer swainsonii
A drab sparrow of northeastern Africa. The head and underparts are gray, the wing and back are brown, and the rump is rufous. Generally common within its range in all habitats except closed-canopy forest. Fond of human habitation. Very similar to Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, but there is little overlap in range, and Swainson’s has darker underparts. Also very similar to Parrot-billed Sparrow, but slightly smaller and slimmer-billed, with paler underparts. The call is a ringing “churp.”
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