From Opus

Alternative names: Yellow-backed Sunbird; Goulpourah Sunbird; Eastern Crimson Sunbird

Male
Photo by mehdhalaouate
Singapore, July 2004

Aethopyga siparaja

[edit] Identification

Crimson Sunbirds are tiny, only 11 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.

The adult male has a crimson breast and maroon back. The rump is yellow and the belly is olive.
The female has an olive-green back, yellowish breast and white tips to the outer tail feathers.

Juvenile
Photo by arian001
Mandai Orchard Garden, Singapore
August 2005

[edit] Distribution

Found from India east over the Himalayas, southwest China, Indochina, Malaysia and the Philippines to Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi (Indonesia).

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

There are 15 subspecies^[1]:

Juvenile female
Photo by arian001
Mandai Orchard Garden, Singapore
August 2005

• A. s. seheriae: Nepal to Assam, Bangladesh, Burma, south-western China and north-western Thailand
• A. s. labecula: Eastern Himalayas (Bhutan to Arundal Pradesh, Assam and Bangladesh)
• A. s. owstoni: Southern China (Naochow Island off Luichow Peninsula)
• A. s. tonkinensis: Southern China (south-eastern Yunnan) and north-eastern Vietnam
• A. s. mangini: South-eastern Thailand to central and southern Indochina
• A. s. insularis: Phu Quoc Island (off extreme southern Cambodia)
• A. s. cara: Southern Burma, Thailand and Mergui Archipelago
• A. s. trangensis: Peninsula Thailand, northern Malay Peninsula and adjacent Burma
• A. s. siparaja: Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and adjacent offshore islands
• A. s. nicobarica: Nicobar Islands
• A. s. heliogona: Java
• A. s. natunae: North Natuna Islands
• A. s. magnifica: Philippines (Cebu, Negros, Panay, Sibuyan and Tablas)
• A. s. flavostriata: Northern Sulawesi
• A. s. beccarii: Central, south-eastern and southern Sulawesi; Butung, Muna and Kabaena islands

Vigors's Sunbird was formerly included in this species.

[edit] Habitat

Found in forest, scrub and gardens below 1,800.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

Feeds on nectar, insects and spiders.

[edit] Breeding

Two eggs or three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. In India it's parasitised by the Asian Emerald Cuckoo.

[edit] Flight

Like all sunbirds this species has a fast and direct flight with their short wings. They can hover like hummingbirds, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist

• List of references

[edit] External Links