Is the purple sunbird a hummingbird?
Often erroneously mistaken for hummingbirds, purple sunbirds are not closely related to hummingbirds. Hummingbirds only occur in the Americas while purple sunbirds are found in Western Asia, parts of the Middle East, Afghanistan, most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
What do purple sunbirds eat?
Purple sunbirds feed primarily on nectar but occasionally eat insects, spiders and berries.
How to identify purple sunbirds?
Purple sunbirds have adapted well to a range of diverse habitats like light deciduous forests, culivated areas, and urban gardens. Females have yellow-grey to olive-brown upperparts with yellowish underparts and a yellow throat. The yellow throat differenciates it from the similar looking purple-rumped sunbird. Male purple sunbirds in their non-breeding plumage, known as eclipse plumage, are olive-brown with black upperparts. In breeding plumage, the males are a dark metallic blue to dark purple with an iridiscent maroon collar around the neck.
About the contributors
Saloni Sawant
Diviya Mehra
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