Purple Sunbird
Cinnyris asiaticus
About This Species
A small, active nectar-feeder, it favours gardens, scrub and flowering trees across South Asia, where males in breeding plumage show an iridescent, almost black sheen that flashes purple in good light. It hovers briefly at flowers or clings to stems while probing blossoms, and is often first noticed by its thin, wiry call notes. Breeding males are most visible in the dry season, while females and non-breeding males can be seen year-round wherever flowering plants attract them.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- It tolerates people well in gardens and parks, but it is best watched quietly from a few metres away rather than approached directly, especially near a hanging nest, since sunbirds can desert nests if disturbed early in building.
- Legal protection differs across its range, so treat any nest as sensitive and avoid touching or moving nesting material regardless of local rules.
- Photography from a fixed spot near flowering shrubs is generally more productive and less disruptive than following an individual bird.
LCAvesPasseriformesNectariniidae
Seasonal Activity
754,966 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
Photo
(c) VarmaX, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by VarmaX
CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.