Crimson-backed Sunbird

The crimson-backed, or small, sunbird is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, tiny even by sunbird standards at only 8 cm long. Like other sunbirds it has a medium-length thin down-curved bill and a brush-tipped tubular tongue, adaptations for nectar feeding. The adult male is velvety red on the mantle and wing coverts with a broad red breast band, the underside from the breast below yellowish, and a black edge to the bib that separates the yellow of the underside. In eclipse (non-breeding) plumage the male has more olive on the head and the velvet red is restricted to the lower mantle and wing coverts (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds mainly on nectar, usually perching to take it, and takes insects, especially to feed its young. Males establish and defend feeding territories on flowering shrubs and trees. The peak nesting season is December to March, but it has been known to nest in nearly all months in the southern Western Ghats; both sexes build the suspended nest, with the interior mainly built by the female, and two eggs are incubated for about 18–19 days mainly by the female, though males may help feed the young. The calls include short chik and longer chee-chee-which-chee. SoIB 2023 treats it as a Western Ghats endemic and rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Moderate range of about 130,000 km² and a decline of about 58% over the long term (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).