Loten's Sunbird

Overview

Loten's sunbird (Cinnyris lotenius), also known as the long-billed sunbird, is a small avian species endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It is closely related to the purple sunbird but is distinguished by its longer bill and specific plumage patterns.

Identification

• Small bird measuring 12–13 cm in length with a long, down-curved bill.
• Adult males are mainly glossy purple with a grey-brown belly, featuring pectoral tufts of yellow and crimson used in displays.
• Females have yellow-grey upperparts and yellowish underparts, lacking the faint supercilium of the purple sunbird.
• Distinctive buzzy 'zwick zwick' call and a male song of repeated 'wue-wue-wue' notes.

Habitat

This species is found exclusively in peninsular India and Sri Lanka, primarily along the Western Ghats and extending into the southern peninsula. It inhabits forests, cultivation areas, and is common in urban gardens, particularly in the city of Madras.

Diet

The bird forages by hovering at flowers to feed on nectar, using a brush-tipped tubular tongue, while also consuming small insects and spiders. It readily drinks from garden plants as well as wild shrubs.

Did you know?

The species is exceptional among Indian sunbirds for building nests that lack cobwebs on the exterior, often constructing its bag of webs and bark within the large flocculent masses of cobweb spun by social spiders.