Purple Sunbird

Not the clearest pictures but I did my bit of crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon moves to get these shots.:) Sunbirds are small passerine birds belonging to the family Nectariniidae. The family is distributed throughout Africa, south Asia, and northern Australia. They feed mainly on nectar but also take insects and spiders when feeding their young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. According to Wiki, the sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution brought about by a similar nectar-feeding lifestyle. Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but usually perch to feed.


My last WBW post had the female of this species. A rather dull combination if you compare this metallic dark blue, appearing to be almost black from a distance. To see more of our feathered friends, visit the home of World Bird Wednesday.