Purple-rumped Sunbird

The purple-rumped sunbird is a tiny sunbird, under 10cm long, with a medium-length, thin, down-curved bill and a brush-tipped tongue. The male is dark maroon above with a glistening blue-green crown, a bright green shoulder patch and a violet rump patch usually hidden under the wings; below it is whitish with a dark throat and maroon breast band. The female is olive or brownish above with a white throat and yellowish breast. Males are easily told from purple sunbirds by their pale underparts (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds mainly on nectar, sometimes hovering briefly but usually perching to lap nectar from flowers, and takes insects especially when feeding young. It builds a hanging pouch nest of cobwebs, lichens and plant material. SoIB 2023 treats it as endemic to the Indian subcontinent and resident with a very large range, finds its trends uncertain, and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).