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Purple Rumped Sunbird


Purple Rumped Sunbird
Photo Information
Copyright: Kedar Kulkarni (kedarkulkarni) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 149 W: 0 N: 189] (803)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-07
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon SX10 IS
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-07-16 1:03
Viewed: 297
Points: 14
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Last weekend when I visited my parents, in the garden I saw this little male sunbird. The bird is very quick and I could take only couple of shots before it flew away. The lighting conditions were not very adequate, but still managed to capture the bird.

From Wikipedia -
The Purple-rumped Sunbird , Leptocoma zeylonica (formerly placed in the genus Nectarinia), is a sunbird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they are small in size, feeding mainly on nectar but sometimes taking insects, especially when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to feed. They build a hanging pouch nest made up of cobwebs, lichens and plant material. Males are brightly coloured but females are olive above and yellow to buff below.

Description
Purple-rumped Sunbirds are tiny at less than 10 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. Purple-rumped Sunbirds are sexually dimorphic. The males have a dark maroon upperside with a blue-green crown that is visible in some angles. There are violet patches on the throat and rump which are visible only in good lighting. There is also a maroon breast band. In the Western Ghats, it can overlap in some areas with the Crimson-backed_Sunbird but that species has reddish upperparts. The female has a white throat followed by yellowish breast. There is a bright green shoulder patch. The upperside is olive or brownish. The uppertail coverts are black and a weak supercilium is visible. The nominate form is found in Sri Lanka and has a more bluish violet throat whereas the Indian form flaviventris (two other proposed populations whistleri from Maddur in Karnataka and sola from Pondicherry are subsumed) has a more pinkish tinge

Distribution
Purple-rumped Sunbird is a common resident breeder in southern India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is found in Gujarat to the west [3] (possibly a recent expansion [4]) and extending into Assam (Hailakandi[5]) or Meghalaya[2] in the east. Records from Myanmar are not certain.[2] This species is found in a variety of habitats with trees, including scrub and cultivation and is usually absent from dense forest.

Behaviour and ecology
They breed through the year and may have two broods,[6] but mainly during the monsoons.[2] The nest is made up of fine plant fibres, cobwebs and is studded on the exterior with lichens, bark pieces, flying seeds and other materials. The nest is lined with soft fibres from seeds of Calotropis.[7] The clutch consists of two eggs which are oval pale greenish and white with spots and streaks becoming more dense at the broad end. When collecting cobwebs they are often seen at windows of homes. Two to three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. The chicks fledge in about 17 days. Helpers, females or possibly juveniles from the previous brood may sometimes assist the parents in feeding the young.[8]

They pollinate the flowers of many plant species such as Bruguiera, Woodfordia, Hamelia and Sterculia.[9] They tend to perch while foraging for nectar and do not hover as much as the syntopic Loten's Sunbird.[10] It has been noted that they maintain special scratching posts, where they get rid of pollen and nectar sticking to their head.[11] When the flowers are too deep to probe, they sometimes pierce the base of the flower and rob the nectar.[12] They sometimes visit open crop fields and take honeydew exuded by leafhoppers.[13]

The may indulge in dew-bathing, or bathing in drops of rain collected on large leaves
jlinaresp, Argus, Noisette has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Kedar,
A nice capture of this beautiful sunbird. Very well composed with sharp details. Thanks a lot for sharing.

good capture even if the sharpness is not great.
really difficult to catch.
regards
Pierre

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1378 W: 56 N: 4747] (16330)
  • [2009-07-16 4:30]

Hello Kedar.
Nice presentation.Beautiful color and great POV. I like your subject pose.
Best regards Siggi

Hi Kedar,

A photo extra natural! I see a few of over exposure of the tail of the bird. But that's nothing that affects the whole. Especially when we consider that the conditions of ligth are quite difficult to work. Such photos of foliage and light against are complex. I think that your result is very good.

Thanks for the note attached. It is highly didactic.

Regards & TFS!

Jesús

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3821 W: 190 N: 11376] (35063)
  • [2009-07-16 10:19]

Hello Kedar,
Nice capture of this male Purple-rumped Sunbird. The POV shows the features with good sharpness and colours against a natural leafy BG.
Thanks and all the best,
Ivan

Hello Kedar
a lovely shot of this nice bird, i like his beautiful environment
great colors and lighting
Have a good night
Jacqueline

  • Great 
  • foozi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1339 W: 0 N: 2575] (9085)
  • [2009-07-19 22:11]

Hi Kedar,
nice shot of this bird among the branches and foliage.
Beautiful presentation with light coming through. Good composition in natural surrounding.
Pleasant presentation.

regards,
Foozi

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