Small Sunbird

Small Sunbird on a leaf

Small Sunbird, also known as Crimson-backed sunbird, looks a lot like purple-rumped sunbird for the first sight, but a quick second look shows this as a much more colourful bird. The male bird has a bright crimson-red collar that extends to its chest. This is, as far as I know, the smallest sunbird in Karnataka. I literally photographed this sitting right inside a leaf!

Small sunbird is less common than the purple-rumped sunbird, because this chiefly lives on the western ghats and neighboring regions. Not exactly a garden bird, but you can catch sight of this bird along the villages near Tunga, which have similar vegetation as that of western ghats. If you travel about 10-12 kms along the Tunga river channels from Shimoga, you should be able to see this along the channels. This being an extremely active bird, be quick while you photograph!!

Scientific name for this bird is Leptocoma minima.

Purple-Rumped Sunbird

Shot just off the road 6 kms from Shimoga

Purple-Rumped Sunbird is the first sunbird I am going to mention in this blog - and the most common in Malnad area as far as I have seen.  Typical of sunbirds, it is very small - it is about 1/4th of a sparrow, if you ask me - very active - hopping from plant to plant in search of nectar from flowers. The male bird is very attractive - it has a metallic bluish (purple) coloured rump (rump is the bird's lower back) and the top portion of its body is a delightful combination of green, purple, yellow and crimson.

Sunbirds as a family are very active and are found very easily in Karnataka. Also, Poorna Chandra Tejaswi notes that these belong to the family of smallest birds in Karnataka. Being so small, they rarely need to come out to the open completely, most often taking shelter among the leaves of the plants they are feeding in. This, combined with their size and agility, make them quite a challenge for amateur photographers.

I have spotted this bird along the roadsides when driving out of Shimoga near cultivated farms, our garden and low bushes near Tunga channels. Apart from its colours (if you are looking at the female, that won't have the vibrant colours of the male), its beak should tell you instantly that it is sunbird - their beaks are so well specialized to suck nectar out of flowers that they tell a tell-tale story. Also, these birds help cross-pollinate many species of flowers.

Scientific name for this bird is Nectarinia Zeylonica.