Bird Guide

Crimson-backed Sunbird vs Purple-rumped Sunbird

Crimson-backed Sunbird (Leptocoma minima)

Crimson-backed Sunbird

Leptocoma minima

Tiny5 gForest

Crimson-backed sunbirds are tiny, even by sunbird standards, and are only 8 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations for nectar feeding. The adult male is velvety red on the mantle and wing coverts and there is a broad red breast band. The crown is shiny green and there are pink-violet patches on the throat and rump. The underside from the breast below is yellowish. There is a black edge to the bib that separates the yellow of the underside.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Crimson-backed Sunbird
Recorded by Sudipto Roy · Song · Molem National Park, Goa, India · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica)

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Leptocoma zeylonica

Tiny9 gForest

Purple-rumped sunbirds are tiny, at less than 10 centimetres (4 in) long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations for nectar feeding. Purple-rumped sunbirds are sexually dimorphic. The males have a dark maroon upperside with a blue-green crown that glistens at some angles, bright green shoulder patch and violet/purple rump patch which is generally hidden under the wings. The underparts are whitish with dark throat, maroon breast band and purple/violet patch in the throat which is visible in some angles.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Purple-rumped Sunbird
Recorded by Vihansith Kulatunga · Palaiyoothu, Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Chandu Bandi · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Crimson-backed Sunbird and Purple-rumped Sunbird.