Garden Sunbird

The garden sunbird, previously the olive-backed sunbird, is a small, brightly coloured bird 10–11.4 cm long, males weighing 6.7–11.9 g and females 6–10 g. It has olive-green plumage on the wings and back with a bright yellow chest and a long downward-curved bill used for taking nectar and capturing insects. The male of the nominate form has an olive upper body, black wing feathers with green edges and a black tail with white tips, with the lores, neck, chin, throat and breast dark and iridescent and yellow pectoral tufts (Wikipedia, general species account).

The account describes it as found in the Philippines except on the Palawan island group and does not describe any occurrence in India. It is primarily nectarivorous but takes insects and spiders, particularly when feeding chicks, and the nest is a hanging oval pouch with a sheltered side opening, often with a dangling beard; eggs are laid in May and June. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a resident island forest and plantation bird with a Restricted range of about 8,380 km², so its Indian range needs a separate source (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).