| Common Name : | Purple-rumped sunbird. |
| Binomial Name : | Leptocoma zeylonica |
| Family : | Nectariniidae |
| Bengali Name : | Moutushi pakhi ( |
| Photo Taken : | Bangladesh |
A male Purple-rumped sunbird.
We all know about the hummingbirds. They are very small and too good to do hovering on air. In Bangladesh we do not have the hummingbirds, but have birds similar to those which are very small and expert to do hovering on air. One such bird from Bangladesh is Purple-rumped sunbird. This bird is native to Bangladesh and South Asian region.
Binomial name of the bird is Leptocoma zeylonica. It belongs to the bird family Nectariniidae where all the sunbirds reside. In Bengali we call the bird as Moutushi (
A male Purple-rumped sunbird in eclipse plumage.
I've already mentioned that the Purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is a very tiny one. Its overall length is 10cm and weight less than 10 gram. Male and female birds are having different color. Male birds are having backside and upper side black. Front side is yellow and getting whitish towards down. A green-purple crown-like thing at the head and throat that glisters from some angles. They have bright green shoulder patch and violet/purple rump that remains hidden under the wings.
Collecting nectar from a flower.
The female birds are duller compare to the male counterparts. Females are having olive back. And front side is yellowish (but not as bright as the males). Both male and female birds are having a long thin beak with a very long tongue those helps them to suck the nectar from the flower. During the breeding season the male birds use to get covered with black.
Breeding season for the bird is the monsoon. They use to make nest from the fiber and cobwebs. Female bird takes care to prepare the nest. Female lays two eggs usually pale green in color. Both male and female take care of incubation for two weeks. They sometimes reuse their nests.
Purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) lives on the nectar from the flower only. By this way they help to do the pollination for the flowers too. They use to hover for a short period and takes the nectar from the flower when perching is not possible. As the young birds cannot take nectar, the parents use to bring small insects for them.
A bird is hovering and collecting nectar. My camera wasn't too good to frame the flapping.
Notice the elongated tongue of the bird at the end of the beak.
Photos of Purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) were taken from the following places of Bangladesh:
1) February 2015: Botanical garden, Dhaka.
2) June 2015: Romna Park, Dhaka.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/
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