Purple-rumped Sunbird - Leptocoma zeylonica (Passeriformes > Nectariniidae) ஊதாப்பிட்டத் தேன்சிட்டு
We may find many birds in cities like Chennai but you will really be happy when you notice a colorful sunbird like this. the purple-headed sunbirds drink honey from flowers. this particular bird was with its couple and they were drinking honey from Moringa trees. even though they were a couple the female bird was not photographed. The bright male bird was eye-catching in both of them.
A colorful sunbird; the male has a green metallic crown and shoulder patch, a dark brown body with purple a rump, a purple throat, lemon-yellow underparts, and whitish flanks. The female is light grayish-brown above and pale yellow below. The female can be separated from female Purple Sunbirds by their grayish-white (not yellow) throat. Often seen hopping and hovering around flowers, picking up insects, and probing flowers for nectar. The song is a twittering “tityou, tityou, trritt, tityou.”
The purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is a sunbird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they are small in size, feeding mainly on nectar but sometimes take insects, particularly when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to suck nectar from flowers. 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. Males are easily distinguished from the purple sunbird by the light coloured underside while females can be told apart by their whitish throats.
ஊதாப்பிட்டு தேன்சிட்டு, ஊதாப்பிட்டத் தேன்சிட்டு என்றும் அழைக்கப்படும் ஊர்த் தேன்சிட்டு (Purple-rumped Sunbird) என்பது இந்திய துணைக்கண்டத்திலுள்ள ஒரு தேன்சிட்டு வகை பறவை. ஏனைய தேன்சிட்டுக்களைப் போன்று இவை சிறிய அளவான பறவையாகும். உணவாக மலர்த்தேனையும் சிலவேளைகளில் சிறிய பூச்சிகளையும், குறிப்பாக குஞ்சுகளுக்குக் கொடுக்கின்றன. இவற்றின் கூடு தொங்கும் பை போன்ற அமைப்பையுடையது. இது ஒட்டடை, மரப்பாசி மற்றும் தாவரப் பொருட்கள் கொண்டு செய்யப்படும். ஆண் பிரகாசமான நிறத்தைக் கொண்டும், பெண் மங்கலான மஞ்சள் மற்றும் ஒலிவ் நிறத்தையும் கொண்டு காணப்படும்.
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 for nectar feeding. Purple-rumped sunbirds are sexually dimorphic. The males have a dark maroon upperside with a blue-green crown that glistens at some angles, a bright green shoulder patch, and a violet/purple rump patch which is generally hidden under the wings. The underparts are whitish with a dark throat, maroon breast band, and purple/violet patch in the throat which is visible in some angles. The iris is generally reddish in color.
