The purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is a sunbird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they are small in size, feeding mainly on nectar but sometimes take insects, particularly when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to lap nectar from flowers. They build a hanging pouch nest made up of cobwebs, lichens and plant material. Males are contrastingly coloured but females are olive above and yellow to buff below. Males are easily distinguished from the purple sunbird by the light coloured underside while females can be told apart from purple sunbird counterparts by their whitish throats.
The Purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) is a small passerine birds found on the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they feed mainly on nectar but take insects when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to lap nectar from flowers.
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 a dark throat, maroon breast band, and purple/violet patch in the throat, which is visible from some angles. The iris is generally reddish in color. The female has a white throat followed by a yellowish breast. The upperside is olive or brownish. The uppertail coverts are black and a weak supercilium may be visible.
Purple-rumped sunbirds are active during the day, spending most of their time searching for food. They usually perch while foraging for nectar and do not hover much. It has been noted that they maintain special scratching posts, where they get rid of pollen and nectar sticking to their head. When the flowers are too deep to probe, they sometimes pierce the base of the flower and rob the nectar, an action termed as "nectar theft" since the flower's primary purpose of attracting pollinators is foiled. They sometimes visit open crop fields and take honeydew exuded by leafhoppers. Sunbirds may indulge in dew-bathing, or bathing by sliding over drops of rain collected on large leaves. The call of these birds is 'ptsiee ptsit, ptsiee ptsswit' or a sharp twittering 'tityou, titou, trrrtit, tityou....'.
