Mrs. Gould's Sunbird

Mrs. Gould's sunbird is native to forests and shrublands from the southern foothills of the Himalaya to Southeast Asia, widely distributed in eastern Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, northern Thailand, India (from Jammu to Arunachal Pradesh), Pakistan (Margalla Hills), Vietnam and southern China. It is bright and colourful, the lores, auriculars, malar region, nape, mantle and sides bright red to deep scarlet, the coverts and wingbars brown or olive-green and the belly and vent yellowish-green. The male weighs 4–12 g and measures 131–160 mm, with a 64–88 mm tail, and the female weighs 5–8 g and measures 91–111 mm, with a 30.5–40 mm tail; both have a beak 13–17 mm long (Wikipedia, general species account).

It has a down-curved, pointed beak, typical of a nectar feeder, and feeds on nectar. It is generally resident but may undertake small-scale seasonal migrations, usually seen solitary or in pairs, though temporary groups of three to five or even more than ten can form. Calls include a high thin tzeeee and a sharp tzit, and the clutch is two or three eggs. There is a non-breeding population in Hong Kong. SoIB 2023 rates it a Low conservation priority, a resident and altitudinal migrant forest bird and omnivore with a Moderate range of about 76,400 km² (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).