Crimson Sunbird: Plumage and new food source

“An image to try and show the rump of the adult male Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) (below). In some text it is said to be ‘yellow’ but in the A. s. siparaja it is more orange.

“I also observed an adult male Crimson Sunbird feeding on the nectar of the flowers of the Coconut (Cocos nucifera) (below). This is not surprising as I have seen the Brown-throated Sunbird (Anthreptes malacensis), Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) and Grey-breasted Spiderhunter (Arachnothera modesta) also harvest nectar from the male flowers of the coconut.

“I have previously observed Crimson Sunbirds feeding on:
Malayan Mistletoe (Dendrophthae pentandra) – nectar & fruit
Rusty-leaf Mistletoe (Scurrula ferruginea) – nectar
Starfruit trees (Averrhoa carambola) – nectar
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, ‘Brilliant’ cultivar) – piercing the base of Hibiscus flowers for nectar
Devil’s Backbone (Pedilanthus tithymaloides, now Euphorbia ithymaloides) – nectar
Feeding on spiders at spider web
Feeding on an invertebrate/larvae

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
14th November 2019

Location: Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Fringe of city

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.