Sunbird

The olive-backed sunbird is one of Singapore’s resident birds. This is one of the most common sunbirds in Singapore,

The olive-backed sunbird is featured in the Bird Series S$20 currency notes released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore between 1976 and 1984,

The olive-backed sunbird belongs to the Nectariniidae or Sunbird family.5 Members of this family, with their metallic plumages and slender decurved bills, superficially resemble the hummingbirds of Central and South America,6 especially since they are also able to hover when collecting food.

The nest is often hung on a twig or branch or even unused man-made objects such as a telephone wire or cord,14 and even hanging laundry in Singapore’s urban setting.

The locations of their nests in Singapore have been a source of surprise and entertainment to the amateur naturalist, as the olive-backed sunbird seems to like nesting in close proximity to humans. Articles and letters written to local media have mentioned these birds nesting in small, spindly plants located along the corridors and balconies of public flats and private apartments, as well as in trees close to windows of houses, and even in bedrooms of large houses.

The olive-backed sunbird feeds mainly on nectar extracted from the base of blooms belonging with its curved beak, as well as small insects, including locusts, ants and spiders. It has also been observed stealing from spiders’ webs

As it feeds on nectar and small fruits, it also serves an ecological role as a pollinator of flowers and spreads seeds it has consumed

Like most sunbirds, the male brown-throated sunbird is more colourful than the female. The male has iridescent green and purple upperparts with chestnut on the wing-coverts and scapulars; it is primarily yellow below. The female is olive-green above and yellowish below.

Diet of sunbirds is based mostly on nectar. They occasionally consume fruit, insects and spiders. Insects are basic source of food for the young birds (they provide proteins which are essential for growth and development).

Sunbirds can hover in front of the flowers (like hummingbirds) or perch on the branches when they extract nectar from the flowers. Despite great similarity with hummingbirds, sunbirds and hummingbirds are not closely related. Similar morphology is result of convergent evolution: unrelated species develop same morpho-anatomical features due to similar lifestyle.

Sunbirds produce unpleasant, insect-like calls for communication. This is one of the reasons why these birds are not popular as cage birds.

The National bird of Singapore is Crimson Sunbird. The decision was taken in 2002 when a voting was held that lasted for three days.

The first person to collect, describe and publish on this species in a journal is Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. He did so in 1822, while stationed in Bencoolen

Voters in 2002 felt that the crimson sunbird is a suitable symbol of Singapore because it is small and active, and because of the male bird's brilliant red plumage

Like the unrelated New World hummingbirds, to which sunbirds are often compared, sunbirds have long and slender, highly curved bills, tube-shaped tongues, and feed primarily on nectar and small insects.

Unlike hummingbirds, sunbirds rarely hover while feeding but instead perch on the flower stalk

Sunbirds are strongly sexually dimorphic, with males sporting flashy, iridescent plumage and females more subdued in coloration.

Nests are constructed by female sunbirds. They are compact, purse-shaped shelters suspended from tree branches with a single central entrance, The nests are sometimes “decorated” with lichen, while some have a “porch” or trailing “beard” of vegetation hanging from the bottom. The inside may be softened with feathers, vegetable down, or even human litter like paper and lightweight plastic.

Courtship is an elaborate affair. Male displays are extravagant, with much singing and “dancing” to get a female’s attention. Males may chase down the females until they settle on a perch. In addition to a bright red breast band, flanked by yellow on each side, and iridescent plumage, males also sport “tail streamers” or elongated tail feathers to further entice females. Once she looks his way, he spreads his wings and raises his tail, flicking his wings while wooing her with song. If he’s lucky, she will quiver her wings back at him.